#enter: a merman with a fish in his mouth

[stabbyfoxandrew]

Congrats of finishing vampjean!! I love them all so much how to pick how to pick…today I’ll say Mer AU or dealers choice because I love seeing and reading all of them!

-💖💖

WIP Wednesday (6/12) | Mer Roadtrip AU (Part 28)

Okay. Micah Jones is dead. Drowned, maybe. Or eaten by a shark. Nathaniel snorts, then sighs again. After a moment of staring out at the horizon, he stacks his arms onto his knees and drops his head there, facing the wall of the cove. It’s surprisingly smooth-looking, like black glass. Except for a set of deep scratches etched into the stone. 

He reaches his hand out and rubs the pad of his thumb over them curiously. Where did those come from? He studies them for a moment. They’re definitely intentional. And not made by an animal. They’re too precise, too clean for that. After counting them he finds there are thirty total, in six sets of five. 

Nathaniel blinks.

Wait. Are these… tally marks? But who would be making them? What could they be keeping track of? As he contemplates these questions, Nathaniel hears the water moving. He braces himself for a nearly-dead, waterlogged human to pop up gasping for breath, but he gets the surprise of his life instead. Because, rather than a human, a merman with long golden hair emerges with a bloodied fish in his mouth. 

Nathaniel can do nothing but stare. He’s never seen another mer before, besides his mother. He watches the boy slide onto the sand, silent and slack-jawed. But this incredible moment is quickly broken, because the mer’s ear fins twitch. His head turns slowly, eyes widening when he catches sight of Nathaniel gaping at him.

[secretcoralgarden]

Part of Your World || Yan GB Little Mermaid x GN Reader

Characters: Adrien

Summary: A Merman who's just curious and wants to be yours

Warnings: Yandere themes, possessiveness

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Yan GB Little Mermaid who is obviously the youngest merman prince of Atlantica amongst his six older brothers. He is the pride and joy of Queen Tritania, with his enchanting beauty and melodic singing voice. He would be titled the best singer in Sebastian's choir if he ever showed up to the practices and concerts. His aloof nature keeps him plenty distracted to ever participate in things that happen around the kingdom.

Yan GB Little Mermaid who collects trinkets from ship wrecks especially anything that was shiny. He absolutely adores the treasures left behind by the humans. His seagull friend tries to tell him what things are, but nothing the bird brain ever says is accurate. It doesn't matter to Adrien though. As long as something he's found has a name and an explanation for its use then he doesn't mind.

Yan GB Little Mermaid whose wonder for humans is endless like the sea's horizon. Even his secret treasure trove of abandoned human items could encompass this boundless curiosity he harbors. Even when his mother finds out about his surface visits, ending up with him being banned from ever doing such things in the future, he couldn't be stopped.

Yan GB Little Mermaid who finds you one night when you were on a ship with pirates who he assumed were your friends. His same seagull friend had pointed you out of the group. Seeing you dance around and the music being played was enchanting. Your smile was infectious and put him into a daydream like state. Maybe if he sang, you would be just as enchanted by him.

Yan GB Little Mermaid who finds himself getting caught up in a small fantasy of him impressing you with his voice that he's been praised for endlessly. The very voice that was the pride of the very Queen of the Sea. He is so stuck in his daydreaming that he doesn't notice or hear the loud splash of something entering the deep ocean.

Yan GB Little Mermaid who realizes that you're not on the ship anymore. He looks around frantically, wondering if you were just a hallucination he made up. But when he sees bubbles rising up to the top of the sea, he knows exactly where you are. His heart drops, and he frantically dives under the water to swim after you. He tries his best to bring you up to the surface as quick as possible so you don't drown. The whole night he's focused on you and swimming you back to the closest beach he knows. Which happens to be the beach of your kingdom. Your palace is sat on the seaside cliff off in the distance.

Yan GB Little Mermaid who admires your beauty as you're unconscious on the warm sand. His fish friend, Flounder, and Sebastian watch with great caution. His seagull friend, Scuttle, also joins as he tries to assess if you're still alive or not. Adrien watches you with amazement. He's always wanted to be close to a human. He's never seen one as beautiful as you, and he saved you. He's in love with you.

Yan GB Little Mermaid who brings a gentle hand to brush back your wet locks. He opens his mouth and starts to sing sweetly. You blink slowly, and you think you see a man in front of you with vibrant red hair singing to you. As Adrien sees that you're waking up he hurries off back into the ocean, leaving you confused. As you arise, you look out at the large ocean in front of you. You were humming the tune that you had awoken too. In your mind, you thought the song was sung to you by angels. Little did you know the merman that saved you was all giddy that you were humming his song.

Yan GB Little Mermaid who becomes love struck and lovesick all at the same time. All he can think about is you. All his dreams involve you. He swims around everywhere with a half lidded dreamy look. His brothers immediately caught on to what was wrong with him. Adrien was always humming to himself with a dazed look. When Queen Tritania see's her youngest son acting like this she becomes worried. His brothers had to explain that Adrien was in love.

Yan GB Little Mermaid whose fish friend helps with Adrien's infatuation with you by finding things that you had drunkenly dropped over board when you were partying with your pirate friends. How did the two know that these objects were yours? Your initials, or last name, were carved into everything. It was mostly due to your boredom. He handles everything with care and has a special spot in his secret cavern for all your items.

Yan GB Little Mermaid who becomes even more absent from his duties and events than before. He's too busy swimming up to the beach in hopes of catching even just a glimpse of you. If you aren't there, he'd just rat to Flounder about things he wanted to do with you.

Yan GB Little Mermaid whose mother tries to use Sebastian as a babysitter for her youngest. Sebastian tries his best but Adrien avoids and evades the old crab way too well. It doesn't take Sebastian long to discover the merman's secret human treasure trove, however. Adrien catches the crab and has him swear to secrecy not to tell his mother.

Yan GB Little Mermaid who has a huge fight with his mother once she found out about his human obsession. She had thought she told him not to go to the surface anymore but of course Adrien didn't listen. Even when his brothers heard the fight going on they did nothing to intervene lest they face the wrath of Queen Tritania. Angry, Adrien swam out of the palace with his mind full of upset thoughts. Luckily, the Sea Witch's trusted pets saw and decided to “help” this poor unfortunate soul.

Yan GB Little Mermaid who is ignorant as he is led to the Sea Witch's liar. The eels promise him that the Sea Witch will make all his fantasies and dreams come true. Adrien is so excited, he doesn't realize that he's being followed by Flounder and Sebastian. Once Adrien is approached by the Sea Witch, he is offered quite a deal. A pair of human legs in exchange for his beloved voice. He is very quick to agree, he doesn't even take into consideration the consequences.

Yan GB Little Mermaid who is so happy and excited abuot the possibility of meeting you properly that he completely forgets that he doesn't have his gills anymore. Sebastian and Flounder are quick to help Adrien swim up to the surface so he can breath. He ends up washing up on the very beach he met you on. He sat on the sand, naked. Scuttle flies up, noticing the familair red head. The seagull helps give Adrien some advice and helps dress him in a torn sail.

Yan GB Little Mermaid who sees you running along the beach. He's so excited he practically runs to tackle you ina hug. You're startled by the sudden contact, but the familair red hair catches you offgaurd. Vague memories of the day you were saved from drowning resurface in your mind. You help him off the sandy ground and offer to take him to your castle, thinking he was a victim of a shipwreck nearby. He nods excitedly and takes your hand. Sebastian decides to go with Adrien by riding on his shoulder.

Yan GB Little Mermaid who is so grateful that you're being so kind to him. The maids give him a bath which is so fun. He didn't know humans could make artificial bubbles. He was also so flustered when the maids give him clothes you used to wear. He shows Sebastian with a huge smile on his face. At dinner, Adrien is quick to take a seat next to you and flaunts the clothes he's wearing to you.

Yan GB Little Mermaid who clings to your arm as you try to eat. He's so fascinated by all the familiar items he had found in shipwrecks. He wonders if you'd be fascinated by his treasure trove. He reaches for his fork and starts to brush his hair with it like he had been taught by Scuttle before. He pauses when he hears your laughter. He felt so embarrassed that you were laughing at him. He was going to stop but much to his excitement you started to copy him. He's so happy. Please let him brush your hair, it's like a dream come true to him. He foes to bed so happy that he completely forgets the curse.

Yan GB Little Mermaid who spends the next day with you. He clings to you and tries to quell his jealousy when other people look at you or even try to talk to you. He chases them off with a glare, however. You take him to a secret river that had a wooden row boat. It was a private boat ride with just the two of you. You row him to a private cove hidden by the leaves of a huge willow tree. Here you learn his name from an unknown whisper in your ear. Then you slowly start to talk about things you liked. He so badly wants to respond. All he can do is nod. When the two of you are knocked over, you're quick to scoop him into your arm and carry him out of the cove.

Yan GB Little Mermaid who's all blushy when you two get back to the castle. You carry him to his room, dried him off with this fluffy thing called a towel, got him new clothes you commissioned just for him, and offered to stay with him for the night. He felt so special as you personally cared for him rather than sending the maids too. He fell even harder. You two ended up cuddling that night. He only had one more day to kiss you.

Yan GB Little Mermaid who tries his best on the final day to woo you and get you to kiss him. He needs you too so he can be with you forever. So he can be a human forever. He dresses all cute. Well he tries. He follows you around all day, clinging onto your arm and refusing to let go whenever you ask him too. It ends up working in his favor really well because you do end up giving him a small peck on his lips. You told him it was a reward for his help that day.

Yan GB Little Mermaid who becomes all flustered and lets out a verbal squeak which makes you startled. So he can talk? He's so happy that he got his voice back and can finally tell you EVERYTHING! He starts with how he saved you and that he was a merman that was cursed into being a human with a deal. He played into the damsel in distress bit hard!

Yan GB Little Mermaid who ends up staying with you after his huge confession. He's just a roommate now. He didn't quite understand the concept, and he desperately wanted to marry you right away, but you had a desire to build a meaningful relationship with him. It confused Adrien so much. It also had upset him. No matter how hard he tried to push, you were firm in your boundary. He reluctantly accepted your terms. He wanted to understand human customs and this was a good way in doing so. That's what he told himself.

Yan GB Little Mermaid who sees you with another man. He doesn't know why but this man is so familiar to him. And he's just as helpless as Adrien was when he first became human. He watched as your hands held the arms of this filthy stranger. It should be his arms that you're holding on too. That's when it hits him. He knows this man! He won't let this stupid Sea Witch ruin his promised happily ever after with you.

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Property of @secretcoralgarden! Do not repost or translate without my explicit permission! Reblogs are welcome!

[katbakubae]

Unknowingly Accepted

Merman!Bakugo x F!Reader

NSFW

CW: (eventual smut), language, misunderstood mating rituals, possessiveness, jealousy, (mild) stalking.

No beta, we die like Endeavor's career.

Words: 4k

+PART ONE+ (1/?)

To say you almost had a heart attack was an understatement.

You had been sitting on the dock at your stepfather's beachfront house, your legs dangling over the side and kicking at the water with your feet. What you hadn’t expected was the blonde hair that broke the surface, making you shriek in alarm before your heart calmed slightly...momentarily. At first, you’d wondered what the hell a...handsome young man was doing in the water near your stepfather's house. It was pretty secluded. To your knowledge, there wasn’t another home for a few miles. Did he swim from a nearby home? These questions initially entered your mind as his crimson eyes stared quietly into yours, your mind not processing how strange this was...at first.

Your lips parted to speak, his crimson eyes flashing in interest as his muscular shoulders broke the water the same time his...tail did. All the words died in your throat as you stared in disbelief, blinking rapidly as the brilliant orange and black tail lightly splashed out of the water behind him. It was gorgeous, iridescent and massive.

You couldn’t move – you were in too much shock at what the fuck you were looking at. His handsome head tilted down slightly, his crimson eyes bright and questioning. His sharp, yet handsome face looking just as intrigued by you as you were him – though, he admittedly didn’t look frightened of you. You weren’t sure what expression was on your face, but you highly doubted it looked much different than a deer caught in headlights. His crimson eyes moved down your body, his gaze lingering on your bare legs and feet that were under the water. He was a few feet from you, and when he slowly moved forward, the humongous black and orange tail moving behind him...you regained control of your body.

He was so big. He could pull you under, he could – you gasped and scrambled backwards out of the water, your eyes huge as he paused in his approach. His brows furrowed slightly, as though your behavior perplexed him. He was looking at you as though he’d never seen a person before...but there was zero fear. Then again, why would he be afraid of you? You weren’t exactly threatening.

You’d heard tales of mermen...they were beautiful and deadly. But that’s all it was, wasn’t it? Tales? They couldn’t possibly be true.

You sharply stood, eyes on him as he moved a little taller out of the water in response, revealing a muscular chest. Your breathing was labored as you began backing up, swallowing thickly. He tilted his head a little more, his ash blonde hair cutting across his intense, ruby eyes that never left you.

No words were exchanged as you turned, grabbing the end of your dress and fleeing towards your stepfathers home. When you reached the porch, you paused, gripping the banister and breathing heavily. Part of you wondered if you had hallucinated as you turned, looking in the distance at the dock, only to see the gentle blue waves...no sight of a handsome, blonde man.

((O))

A few days had passed, and you couldn’t get the encounter out of your head. You told no one; you didn’t want them to think you were crazy.

Hell, if you thought too much about it, you thought you were crazy, too.

You had avoided going near the water again by yourself, your eyes constantly searching the water when you were near it. You didn’t see anything again, but in your paranoia...you felt like you were being watched – always. The second you stepped foot outside, that itching feeling of someone’s stare was all over you, making you uncomfortable.

You were warily looking over the water and walking on the dock with your stepfather when you felt a disgusting squish underneath your bare foot. You jumped back, shrieking when you saw a huge, dead fish on the dock. You covered your mouth with a gasp when you saw massive claw marks across its blue scales, obviously killing it.

“Shit, how did that get up on the dock – what the hell killed it?” you stepfather said after running up to you when you shrieked. You covered your cheeks, your stomach rolling in disgust when your stepfather leaned down to pick it up, it’s guts falling on the wood before he tossed it in the water.

“It’s alright, something else will eat it,” your stepfather chuckled, patting you on the back.

You swallowed thickly, wrapping your arms around your torso as he began setting up his fishing pole.

“I…what do you think killed it?” You asked in a high pitched tone, seeing him shrug uninterestedly.

“Could be anything,” he commented, inspecting his line, “ocean is so big that anything could be out there.”

You nodded, looking out over the water with a wary look.

Over the next few weeks, it kept happening. You always seemed to be the one that found the ripped apart, dead fish near the water. Multiple ones kept turning up, and to your horror, they kept getting bigger. You never wanted to go outside again when a medium-sized shark had turned up in your path.

What was worse was that every time you showed your stepfather, he’d shrug it off as though this was normal. You weren’t a marine expert, but you were pretty sure this was weird. You hated it, but your mind kept trailing back to the…merman you thought you saw.

Was he doing this? If he was and he was trying to unnerve you, it was working.Was he trying to frighten you? Why else would he be leaving carcasses everywhere? Of course, you didn’t know it was him, but you began to strongly suspect it.

You were sitting on the sand, rolling a rock in your hand and looking out over the water once again as your stepfather waxed his boat nearby. You sighed at the feeling of being watched, pulling you knees up to your chest and resting your chin on your knee. The sun shined down on the water as you contemplated why you were always out here, looking over the water every time you stepfather came out. Did you want to see him again to prove to yourself it was real?

You sighed, your eyes catching something gleaming at the edge of the shoreline. You paused, lifting your chin from your knees as you slowly stood, walking to the waters edge and crouching down. Sure enough, there was glimmering lights just under the surface, making you hesitate before reaching in the water and grabbing the object. Your heart stuttered when you realized there was a string, and you pulled it from the sand.

Your eyes almost popped out of their sockets when your hand revealed a stunning necklace. It was held together by an intricately braided string, unlike you’d ever seen before. What stunned you was how it was made. There were sea shells and what appeared to be diamonds and serpentine woven throughout the braided chain. You weren’t sure, but they certainly looked like them and you knew both were found in the ocean. The diamonds were cloudy as they were raw, but so gorgeous that they took your breath away. They fit the white of the seashells, and the serpentine added a pop of color.

It was the most unique necklace you’d ever seen. There was a simple tie in the back as you hesitated, then placed it around your neck. You smiled as you fastened it, looking down and running your fingers over the small gems and shells. You heard a small splash and looked up sharply, gasping when you saw a familiar, blonde head near the dock, about twenty feet from you. You stood on the shore, his intense eyes trailing down to your neck, where the necklace rested against your collarbone. For the first time, his neutral expression faded, his smooth cheeks crinkling as he smirked in what appeared to be satisfaction. It made him look more handsome than anyone had a right to.

At that moment, you knew he’d made it and somehow, made it for you. Your fear lessened, but didn’t become totally absent. After all, he was still some kind of sea creature. You glanced over at your oblivious stepfather nearby, noticing his gaze followed yours. His gaze moved back to you when you looked back at him and he tilted his head down as if to say, ‘What are you going to do? Cry for help?’

It absurdly kept your mouth shut as your heart raced in your chest. The sounds of the water and the gulls may have drowned out your words that left your mouth without a thought.

“Thank you.”

To your surprise, you saw his head and shoulders raise in recognition, his massive tail lightly moving the water behind him. It had to be uncomfortable, you thought, to be in the shallow water with a tail like that. It’s clear he’d only came to see you, making your chest squeeze. Every part of you said he was a predator, and you should be wary and worried, but….was he just curious about people? Was the necklace an offering of peace or friendship?

“Honey, could you come help me with this?”

Your stepfathers voice caused you to jump and look over at him as he waved you over. You quickly looked back, frowning when you saw he was gone. Clearly, he didn’t want your stepfather to see him.

You sighed, lightly touching the necklace as you went to help your stepfather.

((O))

“You love swimming, come on!”

It was how you ended up on your stepfathers boat with your mother in the ocean. You supposed that now, you were wary of the water. Not really because of him, but at the same time, it was because of him. Surely, there were others like himself? Mermen?

You wondered what his name was. Did he even have a name? Surely, he did. He didn’t speak and maybe he couldn’t, but his gaze was as intelligent and it was intense. His face was fierce, but incredibly handsome in your opinion. His skin was perfect, and not to mention, his upper body was completely ripped.  

Dear god, were you attracted to a fucking mute fish? 

You needed to get out more.

You were wearing the necklace you suspected he made with your bikini. Absurdly, you told yourself if any other…fish-men saw it, they’d somehow know one of them made it and leave you alone. You hesitated at the side of the boat, looking around the rippling, blue water as though you were going to see a face. It had an eerily resemblance to being too afraid to look out the window at night because you were afraid of seeing a face.

No, you doubted he was here. He went close to the shore when he wanted to see you. You weren’t far out, as the cliffs were nearby. Closing your eyes, you jumped in the water, the coolness rushing over you as you broke the surface, rubbing your eyes and blinking as you watched you legs move, a tad paranoid something was going to touch them.

Your stepfather and mother were drunk, laughing loudly on the boat as they blared classic rock. You rolled your eyes, swimming a bit away from the boat to avoid them. Honestly, you weren’t even sure why they insisted you go. You felt like you were intruding on a date or something. You swam a little further away, sighing to yourself and trying to relax, letting the water lap over your shoulders.

Pain shot fiercely up your leg, making your eyes shoot open before you shrieked and went under the water. Your leg locked up, and it took you but a moment to realize you had a muscle cramp.

Your mind was frantic as you scrambled for the surface, your lungs burning as you prayed your drunk parents would notice. Your vision started blackening when you felt something warm and strong wrap around you and break the surface. You coughed horribly as you felt yourself moving through the water at a fast speed, unable to focus or get your bearings and you choked and gasped. It suddenly stopped and you felt yourself being laid on a hard surface. Your coughing quieted down as your watery eyes tried to focus, making you rub them and blink heavily.

Your spine went rigid when you met a familiar, crimson gaze that was much closer than ever before. His upper body was pulled from the water, his tail still submerged as he leaned on his hands, looking over your body as if to check that you were okay. Your gaze flicked around, realizing he’d taken you to the nearest surface, which was inside one of the caves. Your gaze moved back to him as your heart thundered in your chest. His arms were corded and strong, looking like they should be considered weapons. He had firm pecks and and abs, making your mouth go dry when you saw the black and orange scales begin at his tapered waist, below his belly button. His hands were plastered on the surface next to you, your heart jolting when you saw deadly looking claws. Claws that likely made those fatal gashes in the sea animals left around your stepfathers property…

Your gaze moved up to his face once more, startling you when you saw he was already watching you look him over. It was completely against your will when you felt your face redden, taking notice of his eyes flashing as he clearly saw the change in your skin tone.

He tilted his head, his eyes roving down your body making you blush even more furiously, wrapping your arms around your stomach in embarrassment. Your bikini wasn’t really skimpy, but it still wasn’t a lot of fabric. He suddenly pointed a large, clawed hand at your calf, which was still twitching from the spasm.

“Pain?“

A jolt of surprised went through you as your mouth parted in shock at his deep, gravely voice. He could speak? It was clear that the word was somewhat unsure, and that your language wasn’t his own. But…how did he know? You’d had the feeling he’d understood your thanks, but now, it really seemed as though he had.

“…”

His brows furrowed at your response, or lack of response. His soft-looking lips pressed into a hard line, reaching forward and grabbing your calf, causing you to yelp in alarm. Fear traveled up your spine as you squealed and began to struggle, trying to pull away from his iron grip. He wasn’t hurting you, but the strength you felt in that grip scared you. His claws squeezing into the flesh of your calf.

“No…hurt,” he said in a deep voice, making you go still as you stared at him with wide eyes. His crimson eyes moved back down to your calf, a shiver running across your skin as his cool hands squeezed your muscle, moving up and down your calf with furrowed brows. You couldn’t move, but you felt like he was checking to see if you were injured…what you didn’t expect was the warm tingle that traveled up your leg from his touch, settling in your stomach. You bit your lip, feeling a tad disturbed at your body’s reaction. He was so handsome and strong looking, though.

Jesus, you were trying to justify being a little turned on my a fish?

“Hurt,” he said again, releasing your calf and shaking his blonde head. Clearly, he had deemed you healthy. Part of you wondered if he had just started learning you language a few weeks ago. If so, his understanding was amazing. Just from his gaze alone, you could tell he was very intelligent. However, if he managed to understand and even speak a little bit of your language in that short amount of time…that showed such a high intellect that you couldn’t help but to be impressed. Perhaps mer people were more advanced than humans?

“It was…a muscle cramp,” you said in a low, strained voice, his head tilting and his eyes lighting up at the sound of your voice – as though it made him happy. His face didn’t change, but his ruby eyes were very expressive.

He nodded as though he understood, his eyes moving back down to your legs and cocking his head, looking at your feet curiously. You didn’t move as his hand reached out again, slowly, as though not to alarm you. He ran a clawed finger across your toes, pulling back slightly in alarm when you wiggled your toes in reaction. It was clear that he’d never seen a human this close up before and had clearly never touched one.

Your fear lessened to almost nothing. He was frightening in many ways, but he was also…

Ethereal and beautiful. He had saved you and checked to see if you were injured. If he wanted to harm you, surely, he would have by now? Though he seemed intense and a powerful force to be reckoned with…he didn’t seem like he meant you any harm. Perhaps you were naive for it, but you felt yourself relax.

He was watching you intently again, the only sound in the dark cavern was the trickling of water and your slightly labored breathing.

“What’s your name?” you whispered, watching his eyes go down to the necklace around your throat. His ruby eyes flashing in satisfaction as he looked back up at your eyes. “Do you understand me?” you asked, shifting against the hard rock of the cave and pulling your legs underneath you.

He tilted his head, his eyes searching as he put a clawed hand to his strong chest. “Katsuki,” he said clearly, making your brows raise in surprise that he understood you.

“Katsuki...” you trailed off, jumping slightly when his eyes immediately darkened, a small growl rumbling in his chest and alarming you. You flinched back, causing him to immediately stop and lean a little closer to you.

You looked at him a bit wearily for moments as he waited for you to speak.

You swallowed, putting your hand to your chest. “Y/N,” you said in a soft tone, his upper body angling towards you a little more, his tail making a small wave behind him....as though you telling him your name really pleased him.

He paused, his eyes searching your face before turning and diving into the water quickly. You yelped in alarm, scrambling to the edge to look down into the dark water a bit frantically. Why did he just leave?

You looked around the cave, your shoulders hunching as you became aware of how dark and...creepy it was in here. You could swim back to the boat – did they seriously not notice you were gone?

My god. What if your leg cramped up again? Great, now you were traumatized.

Right as you really started to panic, he broke the surface of the water, shaking his hair out. To your amusement, it went right back to his spiky look as though it wasn’t just soaked. You couldn’t help it when a giggle left your lips, his crimson eyes snapping to you, his nostrils flaring slightly as he pulled his hand from the water, flinging a large, green fish on the rock in front of you. You jumped, gasping as you saw the familiar claw marks on the side of the dead fish, your eyes going wide.

“It was you!” You gasped as his brows raised for a moment, a smile curling his lips. Your heart jumped when you noticed his perfect teeth also had fangs – two sharp canines. “Why did you leave me dead fish?” You asked, tilting your head.

His eyes squinted for a moment, as though he was trying to process how to answer your question. “Hmm…showing interest,” he answered, his eyes gleaming as your face reddened.

Surely, he didn’t mean…

“What do you mean?” You squeaked, staring at him in disbelief as his lips curled in what appeared to be frustration, huffing through his nose.

“Interest…in mating,” he emphasized, your jaw going slack in shock as his eyes moved down to the necklace. “Accepted.” He added, nodding towards the necklace that adorned your throat.

You were reeling in shock. You’d accepted his advances by wearing the necklace he’d made? How was that fair? Surely, he knew that you didn’t know what it would mean.

He huffed, picking up the fish and holding it out to you. You recoiled, your stomach turning at the bleeding body. “Eat. Hungry,” he said, looking determined to make you eat this raw fish. You shook your head imploringly, covering your mouth and attempting to wave it away.

“Y/N!”

You jumped at the sound of your stepfathers voice. Katsuki snarled loudly at the sudden noise, turning around sharply and blocking your view with his large body protectively at the perceived threat to you.

“It’s okay!” You exclaimed, “It's my stepfather.”

His strong shoulders relaxed slightly as he turned to look towards you again. It must be your imagination, but you could have swore a sad look crossed his intense face for a moment. It was almost as if he was sad your time together was over.

“I have to…” you trailed off, sliding your legs in the water next to him as he nodded in understanding. You tensed up when he immediately moved in front of you, his large, strong hands wrapping around your waist. Your breath left you in a rush when he strongly lifted you off the rock, slowly lowering you in the water and supporting all your weight.

“Oh…” you breathed as he towered over you, coming much closer. He was huge as you stared up at him with wide eyes. “I-I…” words failed you as his hands tightened on your waist, his gaze becoming hooded. Your breath was shallow as a soft scent entered your nose. It smelt like the ocean, but it was almost sweet, like caramel.  It was crippling, and you found yourself unable to move or even think as his eyes fluttered closed, tilting his head down. You didn’t even think of stopping him as your own eyes fluttered shut.

The feel of soft press of his lips was unexpected, as was the feel of adrenaline that suddenly started pumping through your veins. Excitement rushed through you as you curled a hand in his damp, blonde hair that was surprisingly soft. He growled in your mouth, and you felt a hand on your waist curl to your lower back, pulling you flush against his hard body.

You weren’t doing this. You weren’t letting a merman kiss you in a creepy ass cave.

His body felt slightly cooler than your overheated one, his tongue sliding smoothly across your lip as though he knew you, as though he knew exactly how to kiss you. Every stroke of his lips and tongue was perfection, making you tremble against his strong body and try to grapple with your sanity as you tugged his hair, trying to somehow pull him closer.

Like him, his kiss was intense and all consuming – as though he was making damn sure you didn’t go home and forget him. It was almost like he was claiming you and reminding you that you belonged to him.

You weren’t sure what was happening, but you continued moving your lips against his, gasping in his mouth and pressing against his hard chest. You breathed heavily when he broke from your swollen lips, moving his hungrily down your neck. Your breath caught as he nudged the necklace with his nose, a low growl sounding in his chest. He nipped your neck with his teeth, a deep, husky word leaving his lips.

“Mine.”

You swore you felt some kind of bulge against your abdomen, confusing you for moments under all your lust as you gripped his hair. He ran his tongue up your neck, tasting your skin possessively.

“Y/N!”

Your stepfathers voice sounded closer now as you looked towards the entrance of the cave, seeing shadows.

Katsuki pulled away from your neck, and you took notice that his breathing seemed a little strained, and his jaw was tight.

It was clear that he didn’t want to let you go.

His nostrils flared with a huff, his bright, red eyes staring into yours.

“Soon,” he whispered in a low voice, his hand running up your bare back, his fingers toying with the strap of your bikini top as his expression turned serious. “I will watch – keep you safe,” he said slowly, making your heart punch your rib cage. His fingers came up to your collarbone, running them across the necklace with a satisfied look on his face. Your breathing was shallow as he lightly ran them down to your cleavage, a shiver running down your spine when he traced his fingers across the tops of your breasts. He looked hungry, like you were a present he couldn’t wait to unwrap.

A devious smile curled his lips, his fangs gleaming as he looked rather pleased with himself at your flustered appearance. He glanced back towards the entrance, seeing flashlights as he looked back at you once more, his eyes lingering on your face before he dove into the water. You barely saw the end of his tail, the orange and black a mere flash since he was so quick.

“Y/N!” Your stepfathers voice called again.

You sighed, trying to catch your breath. “I’M HERE!” You forced yourself to call out, your mind spinning and unable to process the fact that maybe, just maybe…you’d unwittingly bound yourself to an intense, admittedly handsome…merman.

[mochinomnoms]

Silly scenario, but imagine something goes wrong in Alchemy, which results in Riddle getting turned into a fish, specifically a goldfish like a legit goldfish, not a merman. If Floyd were to find out, depending on his mood, he would either laugh or annoyed that his goldfishy quite literally turned into a goldfish. Now imagine Floyd carrying goldfish Riddle around the campus in a small tank. This was funnier in my head, I swear.

I'm so sorry, Riddle, because Floyd has the impulsive decision-making of a 2-year-old who just discovered free will.

He's dropping Riddle into his mouth and just barely registers, “oh wait, I probably shouldn't eat him lol” before spitting him back into the bowl.

If you wanted to take it on a much sweeter, shipping note, this would be a great opportunity for Floyd to show a much softer side to Riddle. I'm assuming that Riddle is still very sentient and aware in this new form, but maybe the others aren't aware of that.

This includes Floyd, for plot purposes of course, as he takes to carrying Riddle in a little baggy. Riddle's not happy, as he's been snatched from Trey and Cater's very dependable hands and is now being jostled around in this stupid eel's hands.

Imagine his surprise when Floyd, upon entering an unfamiliar part of Octavinelle, carefully drops him in a pleasantly cool, refreshing tank. It's a freshwater one, too, which doesn't match the rest of the waters surrounding the dorm. It takes a moment for him to realize that it's probably one of Jade's terrariums, perhaps gifted to Floyd, if the random knick-knacks like a small bouncy ball and a still wrapped lollipop were any indicator.

I suppose he could be fascinated with freshwater marine life, being from the sea. Still, it's much more well-kept than I'd expect from Floyd, of all people.

There's a few other small freshwater fish swimming in the small tank as well. They looked remarkably healthy and lovely, despite being mostly gray and silver. The filtration system looked expensive too, was this all really Floyd's doing?

“Floyd, did you really put Riddle into my tank?” Ah, never mind, this makes more sense. “I thought I told you after the last time, stop added things into my tank. And when did you add that candy?”

Riddle had never heard Jade speak in such an irritated tone, it reminded him of how Cater would speak with his older sisters on the phone. Siblings don't always get along, he supposes.

“Aw it's fine, the little guys love my decorations! And besides,” Floyd leaned down to stare at Riddle with his bi-colored eyes. They looked quite pretty, he'd hate to admit.

“I gotta take care of my Riddle!” Huh, Floyd never, if ever, called him by his actual name. “Sea Turtle and Seabream probably would've kept him in that stupid bag until he turned back. That's no good!”

Riddle watched as Floyd rested his head on his arms, gazing at him with an expression he'd rather not name as Riddle swam around in the water. He had to admit, the water against his scales felt quite nice, Riddle wondered if being in a merform would be the same?

“And I gotta make sure he likes the water, that way he'll agree to move into our home after we get married.”

WHAT

Riddle was glad that he couldn't do more to express himself other than fan and flutter his fins and gills, as he's sure Floyd would rub his sudden embarrassment in his face.

“Please, you have to confess for that to even happen.” Jade scoffed as he reached his hand in to pick out the toys and trash Floyd had left in the tank. “And that's if you get him to not hate your guts.”

“Jaaaaaaade! You're being meeeeean!” Floyd turned back around to wrap his arms around his brother's waist, letting himself become deadweight for Jade to drag as he tried to walk to the trashcan by his desk.

“You can't say nothing! You're in the same boat with your mate!”

“I am most certainly not!” Jade's huff was almost amusing, if not unsettling coming from him. “My darling is just shy, I need to be careful—”

“You're a scared little bitch is what you are.”

Riddle watched as Floyd immediately ran out of the room, Jade following right after him. He thinks he could make out sounds of crashing, but it was muffled from the water and glass. It took all but of a few minutes for a disheveled Floyd with a blood nose to zoom back into the room, nearly smacking against the tank as he fell to his knees.

“Sorry Little Goldfishie, didn't mean to leave ya alone. I'll stay with ya for a while until you turn back into my Riddle. 'Kay?”

Perhaps delusional lovesickness ran in the Leech family. Perhaps Riddle was also a bit delusional, as the fond look in Floyd's eyes didn't completely turn him off.

[25centsoda]

DinLuke Fic in honor of AO3 Down

Chapter 1 of my five-chapter wip (currently getting my ass kicked by chapter 3) to feed the starving masses on this terrible day of AO3 Down. Fic and summary subject to change by the time I finish, edit, and finally post it. Fair warning this chap is 9 pages on my google doc.

Summary: After rescuing Grogu, Din retired to a quiet life as a lighthouse keeper with his son. Unfortunately, his life is determined to be anything but quiet.

Tags: Mermaid au, DinLuke, Din Djarin, Grogu, Luke Skywalker, Cara Dune, Moff Gideon, Darth Vader, Emperor Palpatine, Little Mermaid-ish, fantasy au, modern au, AAC, autistic Grogu, nonspeaking Grogu, Din was a hitman

EDIT: AUGH apparently AO3 came back up while I was posting. Was supposed to be down for 3 more hours...smh. Anyways, enjoy ig!

There was a merman lying on the rocky beach, above the tidal line, not twenty feet away.

Din rubbed his eyes. Blinked. The merman was still there.

He turned around.

Turned back.

Still there.

His gaze drifted up to the clouds as he thought, mind churning like stormy waves. Had he had breakfast that morning? Or water? Dehydration did things to the brain, right? Maybe the kid had kept him up too late and he was dreaming…

A rock landed very near his foot. He looked down.

The merman was waving to him. Propped up on one pale arm, with blue…gills? Fins? Waving merrily just behind his ears. There were more fins along the back of each arm. He was smiling and mouthing something, but no sound was coming out.

Din better not be hallucinating.

He picked his way across the rocks and stopped in front of the…fish. Man. Gods above, there were scales on this man’s bare stomach, and just below his belly button the skin faded entirely into blue scales, and his lower half was…

The merman flapped his tail, silently laughing. It slapped the ground with a wet sound.

Din could only stare.

The merman waved his hand, bringing Din’s attention back to his face, which was unfairly beautiful, a fact that Din elected to ignore. He began signing animatedly and mouthing something, but it wasn’t any sign language Din knew, and he’d never been great at reading lips.

Din shook his head. “Sorry, I don’t understand.”

The merman stopped signing with a huff. He bit his lip, looking around. There wasn’t much to see. This beach was isolated—that’s why Din had chosen it. There was nothing around except for chunks of pale rocks in varying sizes, the water, and, distantly, grassy dunes. And the lighthouse Din was paid to keep.

“Hold on,” Din said. He got several steps away before another thrown rock reminded him to say, “I’ll be right back. I’m going to get something that will help.”

It was a long walk back to the lighthouse, but it was a walk he made every other day, to ensure that nothing weird or dangerous had washed up. And it was a good thing, too, because evidently something had washed up. Or…someone? Din wasn’t really sure how to refer to a literal merman. He still wasn’t convinced that he hadn’t hallucinated the whole thing.

Grogu was waiting at the door for him, one little hand holding the doorframe as he leaned out of it, waving his device. “Ba!” he shouted. His black hair fell into his face—Din needed to cut it soon—as he looked down to make selections. As Din neared, the device read out, “Dad where go? Why back soon?”

Din tousled his son’s hair. “Just came back to grab something real quick, buddy. I’ve gotta go out again.”

Grogu tilted his head in question.

Din passed him, entering the kitchen. “I don’t know what I’ve found. Somebody that needs help, I think.”

.

.

.

Din made his way back to the beach. The merman was still there. Din wished he had thought to grab himself a bottle of water, or a snack or something, but the fact that the man was still there boded well for Din’s mental faculties, if not for the logic of the universe.

“Can you read English? D’you even know English? Do you know what I’m saying?”

Din felt stupid, talking to some hallucination-man-fish-thing, but the man nodded, so Din took that as a yes.

“Okay. Uh, well I have this.” He held out the communication board that he had brought. It was laminated—they all were, so that they would last longer—so it wouldn’t be bothered by the fact that the man reaching out a hand to take it was still dripping wet. Din had grabbed the hospital board rather than any of the core boards or fringe vocabularies, thinking that it would be the most useful. It wasn’t like Grogu already had a single-page board for mermaid trapped on the beach, and Din figured that the man was likely to be injured or hurting in some way, being so far up on the rocks. “Point to whatever you want to say.”

The merman examined the green board with interest, front and back. He seemed to read every icon carefully. The back had the alphabet and “YES”/”NO” along the bottom, a section labeled “I WANT”, a section labeled “I AM”, “I WANT TO SEE”, and a section containing icons for yes, no, thank you, stop, pen/paper. The front had pictures of a blank, uncolored body showing the front and back view with a pain scale in the middle, and icons describing different types of pain like itches, stings, can’t move. Along the sides of the front were requests for items, bathroom, and like that, don’t like, repeat that, speak louder.

After a while, Din said, “Well? Are you, uh, injured, or anything?”

The man scanned the board again, and finally pointed to the image of a glass labeled Water. As he did so, Din noticed that his fingers were webbed halfway together, with shimmering blue, nearly-transparent webbing. He looked up at Din.

“Right. Right.” Din found himself swinging his arms as he looked around the beach. He forced himself to stop. “I can. Uh.” How heavy could a fish-man be? Probably very heavy. Still—“I can bring you back to the ocean?”

The merman shook his head vehemently, eyes wide. Din noticed for the first time that they were blue, like the man’s fins. The man pointed to the red icon labeled NO over and over.

Din held up a placating hand. “Okay, okay. No ocean. Got it.” He didn’t understand in the slightest, but the message was clear. “What if I bring up a bucket?”

The man nodded.

Din…didn’t have a bucket on him. Luckily, there was a storage shed not too far from here—there was a dock about half a mile back. Once he had a bucket and filled it with water, he hesitated.

“Do you want me to just—” Din made a motion like he was going to throw the water on him.

The man gestured for the bucket. Din handed it over. The man dipped his hand in and splashed the water on the fins sticking out of his head.

Huh. Maybe those were his gills, or…something. Din didn’t exactly know that much about fish biology. Mostly what he knew about was killing. And, slowly, how to care for a nonspeaking toddler.

“Are you lost? Are you, uh, hungry?”

The man pointed to Thank you. 

Din was suddenly seized with the urge to know—”What’s your name? If—if you can spell it.” If a merman knew English, he could spell his name in English, right? Or would it be all clicks and whistles, like a dolphin?

He watched as the man spelled L—U—K—E.

“Luke.”

A nod and a smile.

“Luke,” Din said again, and wasn’t it enough that the man had an unfairly attractive face and, if he was already admitting things to himself anyway, body? Did he have to have a name that moved in Din’s mouth like that?

N—A—M—E—?

“What?”

Luke spelled it out again.

“Oh, my name.” Gods, Din was an idiot. “It’s Din. Din Djarin.”

Din. Luke mouthed the name, smiling. Din felt like he was going to combust.

“Uh, if you’re not going to go back in the ocean…” Din paused again. Luke shook his head wildly, almost unbalancing himself. Din forged on. “...would you like to come to my house? I have a bathtub I can fill with salt water for you; it’s probably more comfortable than these rocks.”

Luke pointed to Yes.

“Okay, great.”

It was quite the job getting Luke to his house. He’d thought he was pretty strong, but they had to take several breaks for Din to catch his breath. The merman was slimy in his arms, his scales rough. Luke held on to the (emptied) bucket and the hospital communication board. By the time they got back to the house, the sun was beginning to set, Din’s arms and shirt were rubbed raw, and Grogu was angry—at least, he was until he saw what Din had in his arms.

Grogu squealed. His device read out, “Mermaid! Mermaid! Mermaid!” He did a little dance, flapping his arms and twirling excitedly in the doorway.

���Move, kid,” Din grit out, muscles shaking. Luke waved from his arms.

Grogu got out of the way and Din made it all the way into the bathroom before he had to set Luke down again lest he drop him. Luke shivered on the cold tile. Din had to reach over him to turn on the tap. Grogu waited in the doorway, watching.

“Oh—sorry, do you need salt water?”

Luke pointed to Yes, his hands shaking. His golden-blond hair was drying now, into thick waves around his gills. Some of the blue spots on his skin were turning colorless, as well, which probably wasn’t great.

“Kid, stay with him a minute, I’m gonna get salt water.” Din pulled the drain open and stood, shaking off the water.

More buckets. More trips back and forth to the shore. It took more than Din had thought to fill up the bathtub. Luke splashed himself every so often as he waited. Grogu had brought in the whole folder of laminated communication boards, and pulled down the laminated booklet on a hook from the bathtub, and he and Luke were engaged in a vibrant conversation that meant that Din had to watch where he stepped lest he slip.

Finally, the tub was full, and Din hauled Luke up one last time, and into the water. Luke slapped his tail excitedly, splashing water everywhere. Grogu squealed, raising his little hands up to the sky. Din was entranced by the water shining off Luke’s blue scales, the almost translucent…skin?...on the bottom fin, the rigid, darker blue spines that held it together.

An alarm shook Din out of his thoughts.

He stood. “I’ve got to make dinner and get everything set up for the night. Are you two good here?”

Luke held up a beach vocabulary board and pointed to Yes. Grogu squealed again, nodding vigorously.

“Try not to make too much of a mess,” Din said. He put two towels on the floor in front of the tub, which soaked up some of the water. He held back a sigh. Fighting mold was a constant battle, in a building so close to the ocean. Hopefully any mold-related damages wouldn’t get taken out of his paycheck, even if they were in the bathroom and therefore probably his fault.

Attending to his regular duties kept Din’s mind off the merman in his bathroom for a while. He stood outside long enough to get a sense of the weather, and reported it on the radio, then listened to the airwaves for a while to see if there were any nearby boaters that needed rescuing—an über-rare occurrence, on this island. He briefly entertained the idea of radioing in his “rescue” of Luke, but what would he say? “I found a merman”? Saying that would be a one-way ticket to a psych eval if not a hospital stay - in other words, losing this safe haven where he and his son lived. Besides, without the merman in front of him, the whole thing felt like a dream. A dream that left raw skin on his chest and arms. A dream he wouldn’t breathe a word about.

He walked around the perimeter of the lighthouse and the station house, noting down any damages that would need repair or repainting soon. Took inventory of foodstuffs—they were starting to run low, but a supply was due in a week, and they had the garden, as long as a storm didn’t take it out. Tended the garden—ripped out some kudzu that kept somehow finding its way onto this isolated island, squirted bugs off the rosemary with one of Grogu’s little water guns. Checked on the water filters, generators, and radio antenna. Luckily everything was in decent order in spite of a day of neglect.

The sun was well and truly set by the time that Din went back inside the station house and started making dinner—chicken fingers, Grogu’s favorite. After some hesitation, he threw some frozen fish sticks on the baking tray as well. Maybe Luke would eat them. Din hadn’t gone fishing in a few weeks; Grogu had had him working their way through a craft book Cara had brought them at the last supply drop, which didn’t leave a lot of time for much beyond his daily duties, time consuming as they were. If Luke wanted fresh fish, Din could go fishing tomorrow.

He stacked up three plates on his arms and brought them into the bathroom. Not a large bathroom to begin with, it was a crowded space between the adult, the kid, and the mermaid. Setting his own on the white marbled sink countertop, he handed a plate of chicken fingers and broccoli to Grogu and a plate of fish sticks to Luke.

“It’s fish,” he explained. “With breadcrumbs.” At Luke’s blank look, Din hastily explained, “Bread is, uh, it comes from grain, wheat, and so it’s kind of…like…well, it’s a carbohydrate. I dunno if you have those in…the ocean. Try it, and tell me if you can eat it, or if you need something else.” He sorted through Grogu’s communication boards scattered on the tile floor, and found one with ocean creatures, which he set on the rim of the bathtub.

Grogu turned his nose up at the broccoli with a huff.

“Come on, kid, you’ve gotta have vegetables.” Din was too tired to really argue the point tonight, but Grogu didn’t need to know that.

Luke reached one dripping hand out of the tub and pointed to the broccoli on Grogu’s plate, with an encouraging sort of Go on expression, nodding. The broccoli got a little damp at the touch of his pale finger. Din grimaced, sure that the salt water would ruin whatever little chance there was of getting the kid to eat his vegetables.

Grogu surprised him by digging in.

Din blinked.

Alright then. He’d keep slightly soggy in mind, on his list of ‘things that get Grogu to eat.’ Kids were mysterious creatures sometimes.

Din ate his own plate of chicken fingers and broccoli sitting on the closed toilet seat, watching the two of them interact. It was, of course, mostly silent, occasionally interspersed with one of Grogu’s noises like “ba!” Luke picked at his fishsticks (after scraping off the breading), Grogu picked at his chicken fingers. Their hands were pretty occupied with the boards. At this angle, he couldn’t see all that they pointed to, but he saw the fairytale board, ocean, and mythology. And home.

.

.

.

After they finished eating, Din cleared the plates, and let Grogu and Luke talk for another hour while he cleaned up and checked the weather again.

“Alright kid, bedtime.”

“Ba!” Grogu said angrily, his little face scrunched up. Din’s heart melted in spite of himself. 

“No, come on, it’s time for bed.”

Luke waved his hand for Grogu’s attention. Once he had it, he exaggeratedly stretched and yawned, then put his hands together and leaned his head against them, breathing big in, and out. If he was underwater, Din was sure that there would be enormous bubbles coming out of his mouth, adding to the effect.

Grogu giggled. Luke peeked with one eye and smiled, then went right back to it.

Din gathered up all the communication boards and knocked them up on the counter, making them into a neat stack. He grabbed Grogu’s hand.

“Come on, I’ll sing to you.”

Luke broke out of his acting and waved goodbye, flapping his hand.

“I’ll check on you before I go to bed,” Din promised over his shoulder. He left the door open a crack, so that Luke could hear them move around and know that he hadn’t been left in the house alone.

Luckily Grogu’s room had a bathroom attached to it, so he could still have a quick bath—the salt water he and Luke had been splashing in all evening didn’t count—and brush his teeth before bed. Din brushed his teeth beside Grogu, glad for once that he still kept his toothbrush on his nightstand instead of in the main bathroom, an old habit from more chaotic days.

Finally, Din got Grogu clean, dry, in pajamas, and tucked into bed with his favorite frog plushie.

Din knelt beside his bed with a groan, cursing old injuries and unstretched muscles. “Alright, kid, what do you want me to sing?”

Grogu made grabby hands for his device. Din pulled it off the charger and handed it over. Grogu navigated through the pages swiftly, before finally selecting, “Sun.”

“Alright.” Din cleared his throat, and began to sing. “You are my sunshine, my only sunshine. You make me hap-py, when skies are gray.”

Grogu snuggled down in his blankets, clutching his favorite Froggie close to his chest, watching Din with absolute love and trust in his eyes. It made Din’s heart clench. Stars, he loved this kid. He would move heaven and earth for him. He had, when he’d rescued him. Although really, it was Din that had been rescued that day.

He reached a hand out and caressed the soft brown hair atop Grogu’s head. “You’ll never know, dear, how much I love you. Please don’t take, my sun-shine a-way.” He kissed his son’s forehead. “You all ready for sleep, big guy?”

Grogu squealed softly.

“Alright.” Din pressed his forehead to Grogu’s one last time as he took his device and set it on the bedside table, and turned out the light. “If you need anything, just yell.”

He closed the door softly, leaving just a crack to let light through.

Luke was waiting in the bathroom, arms folded on the rim of the bathtub, his head resting on top. He perked up when Din came in, but not much.

“How’s your, uh, oxygen?”

Luke gave a thumbs up.

“Tired?”

Luke nodded.

“Yeah, me too.” His muscles were certainly sore from lugging all that water and the merperson. He needed to work out more, probably. As busy as this job kept him, it didn’t maintain his physical fitness the way he used to. He’d let himself get…soft, as Grogu’s dad.

“You good for the night? Need any fresh water?”

Luke shook his head. Thankfully. Din didn’t particularly want to go out in the pitch dark. It would be hard to hold a flashlight and a full bucket at the same time.

“Can you write?” At Luke’s nod, Din took out a weather resistant notepad and pen and set them on the rim of the bathtub beside Luke’s head. “We’re expecting a supply run in a day or so. If you need anything, or want anything, I can radio shore and have it delivered then.”

The merman perked up. Thank you!!! he wrote, with three exclamation marks. Din huffed a laugh.

Luke wrote, head bowed, for a while. Din watched his golden hair, long dried except around his…gills, bounce softly, reflecting the overhead light. It was mesmerizing, like watching light bounce off of water.

When Luke held up the notepad again, Din had to shake himself a little to refocus.

Salmon

Oysters

Something soft to lay on the side

Something I can help you with, as payment for taking me in

Din blinked. “I don’t need you to help me with anything.”

Luke’s gaze was pleading. No: Begging.

Din shook his head. “Really. Most of my job you can’t help me with anyway; unless you can repaint the lighthouse or pull weeds.”

Luke frowned, his lip stuck out. Din couldn’t help having a little thrill at the sight. It was adorable.

“Really! I guess I could…” He really thought about it. He supposed…that the counter could use a little basket for his keys. One of Grogu’s favorites from the craft book was basket-weaving. He could show Luke how to do it, and thus keep them both occupied, and Luke could feel useful. “Do you know how to weave baskets?”

Luke nodded eagerly.

“I’ll collect some materials for you from the wildflower garden tomorrow. Grogu can help.” Din broke off with a yawn. “I’ll tell our supplier to get the rest of it. Sleep well.”

Luke pointed at Din and mimed sleeping, with his head on his hands, then nodded as if to say You too.

Din smiled and turned to go. He paused in the doorway with his hand on the light switch.

“On or off?”

Luke tilted his head, brow furrowed. To demonstrate, Din flicked the lights off, then back on. Then again, saying out loud which was which.

“Thumbs up, on. Thumbs down, off.” He showed how to do it as he spoke. Luke gave a thumbs down. “Lights off it is,” he said, turning them off. “Goodnight. See you in the morning.”

He left the door cracked open again and made his way up the stairs, stifling a yawn.

He wouldn’t be surprised if the bathroom was empty in the morning. Weirder things had happened.

Although, if he was honest with himself—no, weirder things hadn’t happened. Sure, he’d had some odd jobs in his old life, but none of it had involved the supernatural. No, it was all kingpins and businessmen and whistleblowers, hackers, grifters, thieves, and the occasional unopened suitcase. Once, on his last job, a child. Never a merman.

Well, this made two that he’d kept instead of killed. Two that he’d saved.

He’d definitely gone soft.

But he found…he didn't mind it.

[fairy-writes]

Merfolk!Viktor x Reader 06

i decided not to link the past parts of this series. i don’t want like a million links on my post.

so! 

all parts of this series are tagged under cryptid!viktor :)

cryptid!viktor also includes my pieces with vampire!viktor

also take all this scientific stuff with a grain of salt. i have actually no idea what i’m doing.

“magnificent! absolutely stunning!” the onsight doctor (veterinarian) gasps as she marvels at the ct scan in front of her. it showed a detailed scan of viktor’s inner organs and body. the merman was still heavily sedated, floating motionless in an upright glass tube of water with a machine buzzing around him, taking said ct scans for you to stare at.

if they hadn’t tortured the poor merman so, you would’ve found it fascinating. 

part of you still did. 

so you watched on, watching as assistants performed test after test with an anesthesiologist monitoring viktor’s vitals. 

which probably didn’t matter because no one had any idea what normal vital signs for him were. 

“what’s magnificent and oh so stunning?” you comment dryly, and the doctor points to what looks like a set of lungs. but they looked almost alien. 

“the lungs! It looks like there’s a resonating chamber. think like a whale using vibrations to make its calls and noises throughout its skull. except instead of its entire skull, this creature uses only its lungs! it also has a larynx, much like a whale, so i’d imagine it makes similar noises. if only i could dissect the thing!”

“absolutely not.” you snap, and the doctor holds up her hands in defense.

“mr. leroy was very insistent that the specimen not be harmed. don’t worry, i won’t break that promise.” you pointedly ignored the whole “specimen” comment. though it did make you wonder. were they going to experiment on him?

testing went on for hours. during that time, countless discoveries were made. viktor was likely an omnivore, though leaning toward carnivore with those shark-like teeth of his. and while his bottom half was indeed fish (likely sturgeon like you had first guessed), he was distinctly mammal, much like whales or dolphins. 

did all merfolk have those kinds of teeth? 

did they all make the same noise? 

were they all mammalian? or were some more fish-like than dolphin-like?

you had so many questions. 

hours after viktor had been released into his enclosure, you snuck back into the testing lab with a swipe of your badge. while it would log that you had entered the premises after closing, you couldn’t help but be curious about what they had discovered.

you logged into the computer and typed in marcus’s access code—he had given it to you when he couldn’t be bothered with paperwork—and clicked on the file labeled “experiment neptunus.”

it pulled up hundreds of documents, and you were promptly overwhelmed.

so you clicked on the first file and found something interesting. 

something very interesting. 

it was a picture. but not of viktor. 

instead, it was of another merfolk, with her human half looking about seventeen years old with long blue hair and her fish half looking long, black, and whiplike. she was unconscious, eyes closed and mouth hanging open slightly to show teeth even more wickedly sharp than viktor’s. 

what fish was she?

you scrolled down and saw some classifications. 

EXPERIMENT NEPTUNUS SPECIMEN #01 CLASSIFICATION: 

KINGDOM: Animalia

PHYLUM: Chordata

CLASS: Mammalia

ORDER: Caudata

FAMILY: Hominidae

GENUS: Oceanus

SPECIES: Homo Oceanus

since when had there been another mer in this aquarium? you had only seen viktor and had even seen maps of the place, so you knew there weren’t any other enclosures unless they were underground. 

was this mermaid a deep sea fish? 

did she not require light like viktor likely did? 

scrolling down some more, you found some notes. 

“tests have shown that the fish-like bottom half is that of a pacific black dragonfish. the specimen is exceptionally aggressive, as such is the nature of the fish. it will be transported to another oceanarium where it can be monitored further.”

so there was more merfolk out there. and silco did know about them already.

just what was he planning?

[much-ado-about-whumping]

Meet Mercy

It's been a while since I posted something original of mine here, but I think I might be due! Many, many thanks to the magnificent @newbornwhumperfly for transcribing this for me from a stream-of-consciousness Discord sketch. (I meant to post this in Mermay, but didn't quite make it - here it is a little late.)

Enter my genderfucky merfolk, Mercy.

Background: The creature who will come to be known as Mercy is captured by some sailors, roughly analogous to Age of Sail British imperialists but, like, in a fantasy way.

Content notes: Non-con, captivity, language barrier, dehumanization (of someone who isn't exactly human, but is human-like in sentience), experimentation, hurt/no comfort (for this installment), bondage, fantasy creature biology, sorta dysphoria, and some VERY FUCKY gender stuff, including essentially non-consensual hormone therapy. Trans readers, approach with caution; this was cathartic for me but might be painful for you, depending on your particular deal. You can DM me if you'd like more specific warnings for this piece.

Readers must be age 18+ for this one, friends.

---

The sailors think, at first, that their net has caught a very large fish. But they heave and haul and the furious thing they bring aboard has a torso, has arms, has a face, has a voice.

They don't know what he needs at first. They try to give him fresh water with his food, but it makes him sick. He thrashes in his ropes and screams words they don't understand, and it's only when someone dumps a bucket of icy brine over him as a punishment that they realize he's drying out. He needs salt water, not fresh.

And they touch him. All over. Inspect him. It's under a day before someone tries to fuck his mouth. He yowls and bites and his teeth are sharp and they curse him, hit him, bash his head against the deck.

They pry his mouth open with some piece of ship hardware and try again. They grow bored. Go exploring on his body while he squirms. Find his ass and fuck it while he screams and thrashes.

He cries his eyes raw. Feels like he can't breathe. Gets doused in salt water again, and he recovers, but he's damaged—

And he learns bits of their language.

Learns suck.

Learns still.

Learns down.

Water. Eat. Bitch.

He learns, in one bizarre encounter, hurts, when one of them tends to a cut on his brow. He hisses, pulls away. The sailor looks at him with a little sympathy.

"Hurts?" the sailor asks. He dabs gently, tentatively at the cut. Mercy hisses again. But the sailor only grips his jaw, not unkindly. Tries again.

Over his shoulder, someone teases him. Asks how his girlfriend is doing. The sailor waves him off. Says, "Even a beast deserves a little mercy."

He says it as he rubs a balm over the cut. Something that soothes the pain. The merman gazes at him, hopeless.

"Mercy?" he repeats quietly.

The sailor studies him for a moment. 

"You know, I think there is something going on behind his eyes," he says to his comrades.

Drops Mercy's chin. Leaves him to shiver, curled up, trembling in the corner by the barrels while the others drink.

Later that night, the merman screams mercy, mercy, mercy as they use him - and again the next day, and the next. That's how he gets his name.

And maybe, one day, they're exploring other ways to hurt him. To touch him. They have him stretched out, bound. The journey will take a month, at least, so there's no rush in examining him before they have to sell the poor thing off.

They find a sensitive spot beneath each of his arms, in the hollow where underarm meets breast. A little soft place, springy. When they press on it, he screams. It hurts. Like it's something deep inside him, something that isn't supposed to be touched. And he recoils, as if they've touched a very private place.

They keep pushing. Prodding. Massaging.

And something seems to shift. His flesh grows a little softer. His body slightly changes shape. It takes an hour of massaging him, but by the end he has soft little tits, a touch of padding where his hips would be if he were human. 

They maneuver him while he sobs, hurt and exhausted, and find...a cunt. Small. Tight. Like it needs more time to develop. But they can get a finger in right from the start. And they do.

Mercy wails.

Thrashes and fights and screams and screams and screams.

But the fingers come back, massaging the glands beneath his arms. Stretching his cunt open bit by bit. When they can fit two fingers inside, the sailors get impatient. One of them rams into him.

He screams like he's dying.

But they keep going, going, going, and when it's all over, Mercy is left torn and leaking. Crying softly. Half-hoping he'll drain out and die before they notice. No such luck - he's doused again and again, and eventually set him in a barrel of seawater to keep him hydrated.

Her. To keep her hydrated.

She's been female before. It isn't the femaleness she minds. But it takes weeks, usually. Her body is still reeling from being forced through the change in hours. She's aching. And they keep using her like this. They do it again, again - take pleasure in switching back and forth.

She's always tired. 

He always hurts.

His old name feels like a distant memory. Her body doesn't feel like hers.

[teddiesbestestpal]

Morgana sweats as he falls upon the lower floor of Maruki’s palace, Adam Kadmon had knock both him and Tiefsee out of the upper layer of Maruki’s palace.

Morgana sweats, the black cat panting and sweating having already dropped his sword onto the ground, as hears the elegant yet graceful tap of boots Morgana grins.

“ Thanks for coming Tiefsee!” Morgana says eying the dumbo octopus Metaverse creation the same short height as him with light creamy orangish yellow skin with pointy elf ears long orangish yellow tentacle tendril hair with piercing reddish pink eyes with heavy eyeliner covered by a golden masquerade mask with a trident theme, underneath Tiefsee’s long grey trenchcoat adorned with golden buttons and a skull & crossbones badge he wears a white collared shirt with a light pastel reddish pink frilly tie around it and he wore light pastel reddish pink frilly gloves, his pants can rarely be seen under his trenchcoat but they match the color of his collared shirt which is white, he wears white boots with black stripes on the edge and with small gold buttons in the back and on his shoulder their are gold Epaulletes.

“ What are we going to do Tief?!” Morgana asks urgently as Tiefsee shakes his head.

“ I don’t know! Maruki’s stupid false reality has prevented me from processing data to access situations like I usually do!” Tiefsee says panicking as suddenly Adam Kadmon appears, the tall golden mechanical giant staring at them.

“ Tief! Watch out!” Morgana exclaims pulling out his sword as he tries to cut through Adam Kadmon but is pushed back. Morgana summons his third semester persona Diego as Diego casts Garudyne onto Adam Kadmon but Adam Kadmon destroys Diego with a single step as Morgana jumps back in pain.

“ Mona! Are you okay?!!” Tiefsee says with genuine concern written all over his face.

“ Tief.. please defeat Adam for me…” Morgana says as Tiefsee retorted.

Even though he couldn’t process data correctly currently he will help Morgana.

Tiefsee materialized his golden bladed anchor with a golden handle connected to a golden chain similar to that of a morning star. as Tiefsee threw his Anchor into Kadmon’s Back as he used the chain to pull himself up there.

“ I’m doing this for Morgana! For Akechi! For everybody!” Tiefsee thought to himself as suddenly a blue energy surrounds him as his Persona transforms into his new third semester Persona Edward, the now turquoise teal skinned half merman with long pastel light turquoise teal hair with a small emperor’s crown on it with tear shaped code coming out of it as Edward’s scleras are black with water tear shaped code in them and a closed mouth wearing a light dark turquoise fish tail scales themed raincoat with long puffy sleeves, actually opposable legs with scales on them and part bright turquoise teal with rainbow scale themed stripes heeled boots with a seashell shape at the end of them and wielding a fishing rod with multiple sharp bladed Darts at the end.

“ Rippled Heartache!” Tiefsee says as Edward channels his water energy as drips of water appear around him as the bladed darts from his fishing rod’s end become coated in water as the darts enters Kadmon’s body destroying it piece by piece as it makes a water heart shape before exploding as Tiefsee surely but gracefully landed on the floor.

Morgana got up as well happily hugging Tiefsee.

“ That was amazing Tiefsee! And you awakened to your third semester Persona as well! See? I knew you would get one!” Morgana says as Tiefsee blushes as he leans into the hug.

“ Thanks Mona.. now I’m sure the others are having a more easier time defeating Maruki..” Tiefsee says sweating while hugging Morgana, Tiefsee has worked hard today and so has Morgana, so they deserve to embrace each other.

[sideswipe1730]

"Oh there you are, Darling!" Donita cheered when she saw Kiara enter, "I was so worried about you. And look! You've brought me my trident! Clever girl."

"Give it to her! Give it to her! Give it to her!" Undertow yelled. Donita grabbed his and put him aside with a tentacle over his mouth. he needed to calm down or he would ruin everything.

"Forgive him, dear. he's got a little size issue," donita said.

Undertow stared daggers at her. He wanted to be big again!

"Now," she continued, "if you'll just hand over the-"

"Kiara, don't!"

Before donita could get the trident, Martin swam in.

"Dad?" Kiara gasped. What was he doing there?

"Don't listen to her!" Martin warned.

That was when they saw each other and couldn't believe their eyes.

Martin : You're a mermaid?"

Kiara : your a merman

They gasped. How was this even possible?

"Martin! How nice of you to come!" Donita said, "And you brought Flopper with you."

Donita! Martin should've known. She probably filled Kiara' head with false promises and lies, just like Ursula did to Aviva

"The name's Flounder!" Flounder said. he went to go at her when Undertow stopped him. If he wasn't so small, he'd take a bite of his! One blast from the trident and Flounder would be shrimp toast!

Donita ignored them and focused on the task at hand.

"Sweetheart, hand me my trident right now," donita said to Kiara.

Kiara though couldn't take her eyes off of Martin. How was he there? How was he a merman? Why was he in the ocean? He and mom hated the sea!

That was when everything clicked. Her father and mother knowing Donita. Mom having a fish friend. The constant avoidance of mom past and the ocean. And the sea stories of Atlantica. Her father was a merman! And mom had been a mermaid whole time!

"All this time...and you never told me," Kiara gasped.

"Keeping the most important secret in his whole life from her own daughter," donita shamed.

"Please, give it to me, Kiara," martin said.

"No. Hand it to me. It's for your own good."

"She's lying!"

"I've given you what you've always wanted. He's the one who lied to you all these years."

"I was trying to protect you!"

"By fencing me in?" Kiara fired, "You knew how much I loved the sea, Dad! Why did you keep the truth from me?"

Martin knew Kiara was angry and she had every right to be. The whole reason why she didn't fit in or feel comfortable on land was because she was half merman he and Aviva always knew that. But instead of listening to her and telling her the truth, Martin brushed it off as something Kiara would grow out of.

"Kiara, listen to me," Martin tried to tell her, putting his hands on her shoulders, "If there was one thing in my life that I could do over, I-"

Kiara swam from her father's grasp. he was doing it again! He was avoiding the question and saying something else like always! Well Kiara was done! No more! Her whole life, she was called names and being thought of as weird and different. At long last, she knew why and her father wanted to take it away from him! Once he gave the trident to donita, she would be a mermaid forever! She would live in Atlantica, play with the merchildren, finally be at home in the sea rather than on land with her secretive

Mother and no doubt father.

"Too late, Dad," kiara said.

"Kiara, no!" Martin yelled. But it was too late. Kiara gave the trident to donita when it started glowing an ominous green.

[answertolifeis42]

Name: Oishen

Age: 25

Country of Origin: Australia

Type of Monster:Merman

Bio: Oishen strives to become the world's first MMAM (Mixed Martial Arts Merman) but people won't let him compete because you know he's a fish dude. So he enters the Moon Crimson tournament to show the world that he has what it takes to win and compete among humans.

Fighting Style: MMA

Likes: - Fair competition - Swimming - Learning new fighting techniques - Fried seafood -Being loud

Dislikes: -Being disregarded -Unfair competitions -Sea Lions

Additional Info: - Oishen can create water and he uses it to moisturize himself when he's on land. He only utilizes water in his big finishing move as he wants to win on his own skill and not special powers - Oishen is VERY loud. He's also super friendly and makes friends very easily -Sea Lions are notoriously racist against Merfolk. Oishen beats them up when they bark merfolk slurs at him. He's not allowed at the aquarium anymore -Oishen LOVES fried seafood. He had popcorn shrimp once on accident and he became obsessed. - Oishen's fighting style incorporates aspects of fighting styles around the world, he learned them by swimming from place to place and training - Oishen has a bad habit of stuffing his mouth with food and yet he has not choked once - Everything Oishen wears he found in the oceans, the ropes, the fish hooks, the seaweed, and the shorts he got from a surfer that he scared accidentally when he popped up to say hi Extra Info - Oishen was first made during a Mermay event. I loved the design I did so much that I wanted to use it more so thats when I started thinking of Moon Crimson. He was one of the four characters I had in mind when I first had the idea for it. - In the "story mode" I have for this idea, Oishen is the winner of the Moon Crimson after he defeats Sinclair and saves the world.

[strawberrymilk-sunshine]

His song

So like... this is a long one. Hope you like it!

Warning(s): possessive yandere Jade, implied death, implied eating of human flesh, mind control(?), isolation

No fish have been biting today. What a tragedy. You had hoped you'd get at least a nibble on your bait, but... you had no such luck.

Then, you felt a tug on the line.

You excitedly began to reel in your catch, feeling a strong amount of resistance. You continued using all your strength to reel in the fish, despite the resistance, and then-!

It was pulled out of water, and it landed on the soft sand of the beach. Except, it wasn't a fish, not entirely. The top half of it's body seemed to be human, though the skin was shades of cyan, there were fins on it's back and arms... you'd reeled in a merman!

"Oh! Um! I-I'm sorry about that!" You said, walking towards him. You placed a hand on his face to try and remove the hook from his cheek, but he dove back into the sea before you could, taking your fishing rod with you.

"Aw... that was my favourite rod, too..." You sighed.

It's a peaceful morning, under the sea. An eel and an octopus sit alone, having a conversation. All is peaceful... until another eel enters the scene.

"Jade! Azul! I almost died!"

"That's nice, Floyd." Azul continues looking over over his latest contract.

"No, really! I was almost eaten! Sick, right?!"

"What was it? A shark? Whale? Lionfish?" Jade tilts his head.

"It was one o' those huuuuuuumans!"

After that is said, Jade and Azul freeze.

"Floyd, did you just say it was a human?" Jade asks his brother.

"Yeah. Look, I even have their hook in my mouth still!"

"Ugh. Come here, I'll get it out." Azul offers.

"Ooooooookkkk... just be gentle! I might just decide to chomp down on one of those tasty looking tentacles of yours if not!"

"You do realize I'm venomous, right?" Azul asks. "I could just as easily bite and paralyze you."

"Whatever. It did really hurt though... ohhhhhhhh, if only I had a sibling who could mind control humans with his singing... alas, no such sibling exists..."

"I was already planning on doing so." Jade smiles. "Azul, Floyd, we'll be having human for dinner."

"Yaaaay!!"

"Must the two of you solve everything with violence...?"

You walked along the shoreline as the moon reflected on the water.

You're not sure why you were doing it. Maybe you wanted to apologize to that merman you caught earlier, or maybe you wanted to get your fishing rod back, or maybe...

...someone is singing.

Someone is singing a song... a beautiful song you've never heard before... you were almost entranced by it.

Whoever was singing had a powerful voice. It was as if he were purposefully singing loud enough for you to hear, but quiet enough for nobody else to.

You needed to find this person.

You continued walking along the shore for what felt like forever, until eventually... you saw someone- or something- sitting on a rock. His top half looked human, but his skin was shades of cyan... he had fins on his back, arms, and where his ears should be...

Wait a second... that's the merman you accidentally reeled in earlier!

"Hey! You!" You yelled to him. He turned around, looking surprised to see you. "I-I'm sorry for what happened this morning! I didn't mean to scare you, I was just trying to get the hook out of your mouth."

"Hm? What are you talking about?" He asked. "Ah... you must be thinking of my twin brother. I suppose that would be confusing for you."

"Um... were you the one singing?" You asked.

"Why yes, I was."

"It sounded really nice!" You told him. "What's your name?"

"My, my... carefree, aren't you?" He asked, amused. "I suppose I may indulge you. My name is Jade Leech, and you are...?"

"(Y/N)!"

"What a lovely name." Jade said, smiling. "(Y/N)... could you come closer? I'd like to see your face."

You did as he asked. You stepped into the water, towards the rock Jade was sat upon. He grabbed your face with his wet hands, observing every little detail of your face. In turn, that allowed you to better see his face as well. His eyes were an olive colour on the right, and a vibrant yellow on the left. His hair was turquoise, with a long strip of darker hair on the same side as his yellow eye. He had markings beneath his eyes, and on his shoulders... he was beautiful.

"You look quite lovely, (Y/N)." Jade told you. "...for someone with legs, that is." He looked away from you.

"Thanks, Jade...!" You said. "It's getting really late, though... I should get going. Could we meet again tomorrow night? I'd like to get to know you!"

"Oh my-! Um, yes, of course, (Y/N)."

"Thanks! See you tomorrow!"

As Jade watched you run off, he couldn't stop thinking about the conversation he had with you.

"Why... why didn't I drown them...?" He asked himself.

When Jade returned, Floyd was quite disappointed he didn't get to eat a human.

Over the next nights, you and Jade would continue meeting each other. He would bring you many gifts; seashells, sunken treasures, and even the fishing rod you lost!

Jade seemed to like you. He really seemed to like you. You, on the other hand... you just saw him as a weird friend. So, one night, you told Jade that you were dating someone. And, the next night...

"Ah, (Y/N), apologies for being late! You must understand, I was taking care of some very important business."

Jade's face was covered in blood... and you could see bits of flesh stuck in his teeth.

"Wha... w-what did you do...?" You asked, terrified.

"Oh, how rude of me, to not clean myself before our meeting." He said, creepily smiling, showing off all of his bloodstained teeth. "Well, you see, you told me you were seeing someone other than me, and... mhm, I simply couldn't have that!"

"Y-you're a monster!" You yelled.

"Indeed I am, (Y/N)~"

You stumbled backwards in fear, and then... you ran. Jade wasn't too worried about that, though.

He began singing once more...

And in that very instant, everything stopped.

The only thing you could hear was his song... and the only thing you wanted to do was to return to him.

And that was exactly what you did. You walked back to him, you walked into the sea, into Jade's arms. He trapped you in a tight hug.

"Humans are such simple creatures." He told you as he stroked the back of your head. "All I need is to sing to your kind and they throw themselves into the water. It's impressive how easy it is to manipulate their minds, wouldn't you agree?"

"GET AWAY FROM ME!" You tried pushing him away, but he kept a tight grip on you.

"(Y/N). Why are you trying to leave?" Jade asked. He dug his claws into your back, causing you to wince in pain. "It's a kill or be killed world, where I come from. I could never knowingly take you into my world... so we must make a compromise."

With a tight grip on you, he swam away from the shore. You were held under the water while he swam, the freezing cold water.

Before you knew it, you were above the surface again. You were in a cave on an island far away from your home. You were shivering, and coughing up the water that you swallowed.

"Now, (Y/N), please stay here. For your safety." Jade said. "I'll return here tomorrow morning. I'm planning on introducing you to my family."

"N-no-! Please, d-don't leave m-me here...!" You cried.

"Ah..." He reached his hand out of the water, placing it on your cheek. "You're quite cute when you're scared, (Y/N)."

"I d-don't want to b-be alone here..." You begged, shaking both from fear and the cold. Yes, you were scared of Jade... he was a monster that killed and presumbly ate your partner... but you knew him. He was the only thing you knew here.

"...fine." Jade smirked. "I suppose I could stay with you the night." He crawled out of the water, and wrapped his arms around you once again. "I'll keep you warm. And I'll keep you safe, (Y/N). I love you so much... isn't it wonderful, this life we'll live together?"

Even if you wanted to escape, you can't. Your home is too far away, you can't swim that far...

You can't survive in his world. So, soon enough, you will rely on Jade entirely.

"Would you like me to sing you to sleep, (Y/N)?"

He will keep you safe no matter what. You're his perfect little human, the love of his life...

You're his, now and forever.

"Good night, (Y/N)."

As you srifted off to sleep, the only thing you heard was his song.

[callboxkat]

Banished (part 11)

Author’s note: Surprise! There’s a new chapter! 

Summary: Janus has been banished from his pod for crimes that he did not commit. However, this merman’s bad luck is far from over. A mer is not meant to live on their own in the open ocean, and as one would expect, things do not go well. Enter: Florida Man.

Chapter Warnings: censored swearing, injury mentions (burn, cuts), banishment mention, murder mention, fainting, Remus being his chaotic self, weapon mention, arguing

Word count: 4126

Banished Masterpost!

Writing Masterpost!

...

Sadly, Logan was the sort of driver who obeyed all the traffic laws. He didn’t even speed. Not even a little! So, Remus’s drive took a little longer than usual, since he wanted to at least keep Logan’s car in sight in his rearview mirror.

Was that strictly necessary, given that Logan already knew where he lived? No. But also yes.

Thankfully, even with Logan’s tragically legal driving style, they made it back to Remus’s house before Remus’s anticipation made him buzz right out of his skin. Remus pulled to a stop on the curb, suddenly enough that the new buckets of sea water he’d collected sloshed dangerously. He hopped out and bounced towards Logan’s approaching car, barely remembering to actually close his own car door. While Remus waited, Logan carefully lined his car up on the street, turned it off, and finally stepped out, apprehensive.

A neighbor stood on the other side of the street, watering their plants and watching the pair. Remus jauntily waved, drawing Logan’s attention to the neighbor as well.

The neighbor scoffed, turning off their hose. They tossed it on the grass and crossed the street.

“You’re not planning on making more of those obscene costumes of yours out here, are you? Those things are disgusting. Just last week you covered half the street in glitter and rotten sea weed!”

Remus frowned for a second, then gasped and put his hands on either side of his head. “OH! I completely forgot, my swamp monster costume!” He sighed dramatically. “Damn, that party was supposed to be tonight.” Maybe he could still make the costume? There would be future parties to crash. And it would be fun to just wander around town, dressed up like the lost city of Atlantis’s worst nightmares. Maybe he’d accidentally dress up as someone Janus knew!

The neighbor was still scowling, looking between Remus and Logan while Remus’s imagination threatened to run away from him. “Who is this? One of your weirdo friends?”

Remus put away thoughts of terrorizing the town and put an arm around Logan’s shoulders. “Oh this? This is my friend with benefits.” Remus winked.

Logan’s brow furrowed. “What?”

The neighbor’s expression was overcome by revulsion. “Why the hell would I want to know about that? Ugh! You’re disgusting. Do I even want to know what you wanted that old aquarium for? And why did you leave so much sand in my mailbox?”

Remus smiled innocently, his arm still around Logan’s shoulders. “I put a 20 in there, too!”

“I didn’t ask you for that.”

“It’s for the tank.”

“It was covered in sand!”

“You don’t like your money crunchy?”

“…Crunchy?”

“Yeah, crunchy.” To illustrate, Remus took a sandy dollar from his pocket and popped it in his mouth with no hesitation, chewing on the salt-soaked paper. The sand grains crunched audibly in his teeth.

At that, the neighbor took several steps back. “What—just—what the hell are you two doing in there? I know you’re up to no good.”

“None of your business, dork!” Remus said, his voice slightly muffled by the dollar. “Now go away before I sick my new fish on you!

The neighbor looked confused and disgruntled, but they threw up their hands and walked away with another loud scoff, stomping across the street. Their front door slammed shut. The hose was still lying on their lawn, forgotten.

Remus leaned over to stage whisper to Logan, shoving the sandy dollar to one side of his mouth. “Logan. Logan. I called them a whale p*nis.”

“I am aware.”

Remus spat out the soggy, sandy dollar, cackled, and grinned like the Cheshire Cat. “Anyway… onward!” he announced, pretending to brandish a weapon. Swords were overused, so he liked to picture a huge, jet black morningstar instead, covered in jagged spikes longer than his thumb. Maybe not practical, but it sure would have that intimidation factor.

“That would be preferable to remaining outdoors,” Logan commented, looking at Remus’s brandished arm with a furrowed brow. Unfortunately, he could not see Remus’s objectively bad*ss morningstar. “I was under the impression that that was why we were here.”

“Don’t want to admire my curb appeal?” Remus joked, putting away his imaginary weapon and turning to the other man.

Logan squinted up at the lime green house. “I’m not sure you know what curb appeal is.”

“Fair enough!” Remus said, marching up to his house. He unlocked the door and swung it dramatically open, his fun-hating neighbor instantly forgotten. “Jan!” he called. “I brought Logey to see you!”

Remus entered the living room first, Logan following behind more slowly. He paused in the doorway, while Remus trotted right up to the tank.

Janus was awake—if he hadn’t been before, yelling someone’s name was usually a good way to wake them up—and was now leaning on the edge of the aquarium, watching them.

“Hey Mr. Taser Fish—feeling chatty today?” Remus asked. Janus had still been asleep when he left earlier, so he hadn’t gotten to ask.

Janus, his eyes still on Logan, slowly reached up a hand and tapped twice on the aquarium glass.

Remus’s shoulders dropped. “Aw. Oh well. I guess we’ll get to play charades a bit longer—that’s fun, right?”

Janus shot him a skeptical glance before returning his gaze to Logan.

Logan was watching their interaction with a conflicting mixture of fascination and apprehension. Remus could practically hear the rapid spinning of gears in his head. He stepped back, gesturing between them. “So, Janus, meet Logan. Logan, this is Janus.”

Despite his clear interest, Logan didn’t seem inclined to come any closer than the doorway where he currently hovered, keeping Remus solidly between himself and Janus.

When Logan finally spoke, his voice was an oddly high pitch. Remus graciously decided not to call him out on it, even if it was amusing. “You, uh, look improved,” he said.

It was true. Janus still looked tired, and maybe a little feverish; but the only other time Logan had seen him, Janus had been visibly sicker, and pretty out of it. The swelling in his face had gone down noticeably, and his neck also looked less red. The injury to his arm was hidden by his capelet, but Remus knew that it already looked much better, too.

The capelet, of course, had not escaped Logan’s notice.

“Did you give that to him?” Logan asked, looking to Remus.

“It’s his,” Remus said. “Found it on the beach, with some other stuff. I did give him the pillow though—it’s my raincoat!” he added proudly

“Oh.” Logan looked back to the tank, seeming to notice the other items as well. He swallowed, turning to address Janus again. “Ah… do you remember me? I know you were rather… unwell, when we first met.”

Janus seemed to consider, then slowly tapped on the glass, with clear hesitation.

“He does,” Remus supplied. “Kind of, I think he means.”

Janus’s nail tapped again on the glass in confirmation.

“That’s what that means?” Logan clarified, his eyes flicking to Remus.

“Yeah. One tap is yes, two is no.”

Logan nodded. Another long moment passed. Logan had a look on his face like he couldn’t quite believe what was happening. And he still hadn’t ventured past the entrance to the room.

Remus smirked a little. “Jeez, Logey, no need to be such a scaredy cat. He’s just a fish man.”

Logan shot him an irritated look. “I’m not afraid,” he argued, even as his gaze drifted to Remus’s bandaged arms. Obviously in an attempt to prove it, he straightened his back and approached, walking right up past Remus and up to the edge of the tank.

He stuck out a hand, and Remus did not miss the way his other one was clenched in a fist, or how he set his jaw. Remus scratched at the edge of one of the bandages on his arms, waiting to see what would happen.

Janus looked warily at his hand, then back up at Logan’s face.

“You shake it,” Logan blurted out. “You take my hand in yours, and shake it. It’s a hand shake.”

Behind them, Remus danced from side to side. “Shake, shake, shake,” he sing-songed to himself.

“It’s a gesture meant to be part of a greeting,” Logan continued, ignoring him.

Janus frowned, but then he deliberately fastened his small hand around Logan’s. Logan jumped slightly despite expecting the touch; but Janus didn’t shock him, and didn’t try to scratch him with those nails that were just a little too sharp to be human. He shook Logan’s hand, from side to side.

A little smile of delight appeared on Logan’s face, his mouth twitching up to reveal very white teeth. He quickly recovered, though, smothering his expression into something more neutral. Remus resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Logey took himself too seriously. It wouldn’t kill him to let himself smile.

“Generally, you, um, shake hands up and down,” Logan said. He still sounded nervous. “Like this.” He carefully shook their hands properly.

Janus furrowed his brow, then retracted his hand.

“So, are we all best buds now?” Remus asked, grinning.

“That seems premature,” Logan commented, sounding a little breathless. Based on Janus’s expression, he shared a similar thought. Now that Logan’s handshake of bravery was done, he took a few steps back.

Remus pointed at Logan. “It’s only premature with that attitude,” he said, accentuating his words with his pointed finger. He turned back to Janus. “You want some lunch, new best bud?”

Janus tapped once on the glass.

“Great!” Remus left the room, heading towards the kitchen.

He only made it about five steps, when there was a loud thump from behind him, followed by a splash of water.

Remus stopped, frowned, and spun around on his heel, going back into the room.

Janus had pushed himself up so that his whole torso was above water. He looked like he regretted the sudden motion, but still his hands gripped the edge of the tank, his eyes wide with surprise. Water dripped down the sides of the glass.

Logan, meanwhile, was not standing where Remus expected to see him. A beat passed in which Remus stared at the empty space where his friend was supposed to be, and then he looked down.

Logan was sprawled out on the floor, unconscious.

“Huh.” Remus looked at him for a second, then back up at Janus. “Well, sh*t.”

…

Remus walked into the living room with Janus’s lunch in one hand, and a glass of water in the other. “Alright, Jan Jan, I actually got your food this time! This is for you,” he told the merman, handing over the fish with a flourish.

Janus accepted the food and sank to the bottom of the tank, where he started eating, never taking his gaze off of the humans for long.

“Aaand this is for you,” Remus said as he handed the water to Logan, who sat on the couch, his face still flushed red in mortification. The fact that Janus kept looking at Logan was not helping him feel any less flustered.

Logan took the glass with a small nod. Janus had started to pick his meal apart, tearing off scraps of fish and eating them one at a time. Logan slowly sipped from the glass of water. He’d insisted he must have been dehydrated or something, from work, but he got the sense that Remus did not believe him.

Remus plopped down beside Logan. “So, you sure you’re good? How’s the head?”

Logan took another sip of water. “I’m fine.”

“Really? I mean, I took one step out of the room and you conked right out on the floor.” Remus cackled. “Is Janus really that scary? I know he’s got fangs and stuff, but he’s the size of a little kid.”

Logan’s mouth thinned, his hands tightening on the glass. “W-well, in my defense, it’s not every day that I am pressured into meeting someone whose existence is so improbable, especially one with fangs and the ability to electrocute me—”

Remus put his hands up, interrupting Logan’s justifications. His expression had fallen, and he had the grace to look sheepish. “Hey, hey, I’m sorry. Not judging. But your head’s okay? I don’t want any cracked eggshells. This is a whole eggshell household.”

Logan put a hand to the back of his head subconsciously, even though he had already carefully checked for an injury. “It’s fine.”

Remus looked him up and down, squinting, before he  seemed to accept that he was telling the truth. He clapped his hands together. “Excellent! In that case, I’m going to go grab those buckets from my car.”

He started out of the room, only to pause and point a stern finger back at Logan. “No more fainting,” he said.

Logan sighed.

…

“So, how do you want to do this?” Remus asked, pacing back and forth with a hand to his chin. All of the buckets of sea water were lined up along the wall, and the remains of Janus’s meal had been taken away. Now they just had to clean the tank and switch out the water, but Janus was still in there, and he probably wouldn’t want to be in there for the whole time. Plus, they should probably check his injuries.

“Your arms are still burned,” Logan reminded him from the couch. “You shouldn’t pick him up. Your bandages will get wet, at the very least.”

“I’ve done it before,” Remus shrugged. “He’s not heavy.”

“It would be better if I did it,” Logan said.

Remus turned, giving him a disbelieving look, and tilted his head. “Ah…”

“I’m fine now,” Logan insisted.

Remus wasn’t convinced. He glanced at Janus, who looked uncertain about the whole idea of being picked up at all. Remus doubted he wanted to be picked up by someone who very well might faint again and drop him.

He considered. “I could cover up my arms. Like for the shower, but less naked.”

Logan let out a frustrated sigh, shaking his head, but he seemed to realize that neither Remus nor Janus were going to let him pick up the merman that day. “…Fine.”

Five minutes later, freshly adorned with two large plastic trash bags, which were taped in place around his arms with duct tape, Remus walked back into the room. He swung his arms as he walked so the wrinkles in the plastic caught the air and made them puff out slightly.

“Like my new digs?” he asked. “How do I look?”

Logan set his empty glass on the table. “You look like you taped a pair of 13 gallon trash can bags to your own arms. With… is that zebra print duct tape?”

“I’m a trendsetter; you can just say it.”

Logan frowned his confused frown, and Remus grinned before he turned to Janus. “Alright, Mr. Taser Fish, ready to go?”

Janus looked reluctant, but didn’t fight Remus as he lifted the small merman from the tank, dripping water. Remus carried him out into the kitchen, setting him down in the kitchen sink, which was half-filled with saltwater. He’d grabbed some towels to pad the side of it and make a pillow.

Janus looked around uncertainly as he shifted to get more comfortable. He looked up at Remus, who could tell he wanted to ask a question. Remus could guess what it was.

“This is where we fixed you up,” Remus explained. “Is it comfy enough?”

Janus took a moment to assess his surroundings, before carefully tapping once on the counter.

“Great—I’ll just take care of the tank. Just yell if you need something. Or drop a plate on the floor. I got the whole set at a yard sale just for promising I’d leave, so it’s no loss! Maybe I’ll actually go buy those ones I’ve had my eye on. They’ve got this octopus on them, and he’s got a top hat and a bunch of knives. Which is just top tier design.”

Janus stared at him. Remus grinned, saluted, and bounced back to the other room.

…

Cleaning the tank took a while, but it wasn’t too long before Remus had finished pouring the last bucket of seawater in, tossing the empty plastic container into the haphazard pile of other buckets, to be taken back to the beach the next day. He returned to the kitchen for Janus, who wasn’t pleased about being woken from his nap; but he let Remus pick him up and carry him back to the tank readily enough.

“Oookay,” Remus said once Janus was back in the tank. “Logey, you ready to go?”

“Ah… yes, I suppose I ought to return home,” Logan said. He got to his feet. “I’ll see myself out.”

“I could drive you.”

“I require my car. I’ll be fine on my own.”

“No, no, no, congrats on your new stalker, buddy. If you won’t let me drive you, I’m going to follow you home, to make sure you get there okay.”

Logan frowned. “That is unnecessary.”

“Well, what if we stop somewhere for some food? Then I’m not just following you, we’re going to hang out. You have to eat lunch at some point, right?”

“…That would be acceptable, I suppose.”

“It’s a date!” Remus turned to Janus. “Butt—” he waggled his “—before we go, do you need anything? More food? My offer of a bedtime story is still open, even if it’s noon.”

Janus had seemed to be attempting to follow Logan’s and Remus’s conversation, with limited success. At being addressed, he straightened slightly, then mulled over the question for a long moment.

He glanced down, steeled himself, and stuck out one of his hands.

Remus blinked, confused. Did he want a handshake? Maybe he wanted one from Remus and Logan.

But when he reached to shake the merman’s hand, Janus yanked it back with a look of frustration, only to hold it out again. Remus realized he was actually offering the metal cuff on his wrist, the one with the bandage wrapped underneath.

“Are you giving that to me?” Remus asked with a frown. “The cuff?” It was pretty, sure, shiny metal despite being from underwater, and etched with symbols, but it was a little small for Remus’s wrist.

The merman hesitated, frowned, then tapped on the tank.

“Oh. You don’t want it?” Remus wasn’t sure what he’d do with it, but if the merman really wanted to give it away, he wouldn’t refuse.

The merman tapped what seemed an overly adamant no. Remus got the idea he was missing something.

“Okay. Does it… do you know how to take it off?” The cuff didn’t appear to fit over his hand, and neither Logan nor Remus had noticed any way to release it. The cuff seemed featureless, other than some symbols that decorated it, symbols that resembled Janus’s writing the day before, but which might as well have been gibberish to Remus.

Looking frustrated, Janus tapped twice again, another firm no.

Ohhh. “So… you want help getting that off? Like the garbage, the other day?”

The merman tapped loudly on the glass. There was a desperate, yet utterly hopeless look growing in his eyes, one that alarmed Remus. It was just a bracelet! A thick bracelet, sure, but it couldn’t be that bad, right? Maybe it had been stuck on him for a really long time or something.

Remus hesitantly took his wrist, which Janus allowed. He turned it this way and that, inspecting it. He thought of the bruised skin around the cuff, currently hidden by bandages, and realized that that was probably the result of the merman’s own attempts to remove it. “How did you even get this on?” he wondered aloud.

Remus heard shuffling steps as Logan came over to see. “He doesn’t have it on by choice? I thought it was decorative.”

“I guess not?” Or if it had been, it wasn’t anymore.

Janus let out a frustrated sigh through his nose. Remus considered trying their pizza box alphabet again, but then the merman took one of his fingers and traced a line along the cuff, from one side to the other. Remus leaned in closer, making Janus twitch uncomfortably, and finally saw a near perfect seam in the metal, which followed along some of the symbols—letters?—etched there.

“I see,” Remus said, and Janus relaxed imperceptibly at the small amount of progress. So, it did open somehow. Or had, at some point. He considered, inspecting the cuff further.

“Does it unlock?” Logan asked. “Is there somewhere a key goes in?”

Janus reached out with his free hand and motioned to a portion of the cuff. Remus squinted, and realized that he could in fact see a small hole there. But it was so small, there was no way his lockpicking tools could fit inside.

“Hmm. That’s way too small for a paper clip.”

“You don’t have the key, do you?” Logan asked.

Janus sighed and didn’t bother answering. His body language, and perhaps the fact that the cuff was still on his wrist, were answer enough.

“How’d you get this on here in the first place?” Remus asked.

Janus, of course, said nothing.

“I guess I could try my lockpicking kit—”

“You have a lockpicking kit?”

“—but I really doubt it’ll work on this.”

Logan held out a hand. “May I see?”

Remus glanced at him with an exaggerated amount of skepticism. “Only if you pinkie promise to stay conscious.”

“Shut up.” Logan brushed away Remus’s proffered pinkie, and very carefully took Janus’s wrist from the other man, at first touching it only with his fingertips. The merman looked uncomfortable, but there was a faint, guarded hope in his eyes.

A silent moment passed as Logan examined the cuff. He ran his thumb over the symbols. “Are these letters?” he asked. “What do they mean?”

Janus’s hands clenched suddenly, and Logan quickly let go of his wrist, practically scrambling away.

Nothing else happened, so Logan shakily cleared his throat. “W-well, It… it looks like it is made of rather strong metal, and as… as Remus said, there is no obvious mechanism by which we can remove it.”

Janus wilted in bitter resignation.

“So… the only option may be to cut it off.”

Janus lifted his head, eyes wary. He put his free hand over the cuffed one protectively. Logan didn’t seem to notice.

“He means the cuff, not your hand,” Remus interjected, before that misunderstanding could become disastrous.

“I—yes, of course I meant the cuff. I know someone who can do it safely. If-if you’ll let him.”

Janus stared between them, disbelief written across his features. He opened his mouth, closed it, then tried again.

“You can remove it?”

The words were very quiet, hoarse, and clearly painful to get out, but they were understandable. Logan’s eyes widened. Remus managed to keep his scream internal—barely.

“I believe my friend can,” Logan said slowly. “Will you allow me to contact him?”

“Only if my lockpick doesn’t work!” Remus assured. He was 99% sure it wouldn’t, but he’d still try.

Janus’s hand wrapped around his wrist. He still looked incredibly doubtful, and the silence went on long enough that Remus almost thought that that was their answer; but then he reached forward, and tapped once on the glass.

…

This was a terrible idea.

Janus knew it. He knew he should be absolutely against any more humans finding out about him. More humans meant more unpredictability, meant more danger.

But if it meant the end of this f*cking cuff on his wrist, he’d do almost anything.

Remus’s ‘lockpick’ hadn’t worked—sharp metal tools that he struggled to fit in the near-perfect seam in the metal, with the only effect a sore hand and a new scratch in the cuff’s surface that didn’t do anything towards weakening its structural integrity.

So, now he and Logan were gone doing whatever they were doing, and Logan was going to reach out to this ‘friend’ of his.

Maybe he actually didn’t know anyone who could get the cuff off. Maybe he’d hit his head when he fainted, and wasn’t thinking clearly. Maybe this was a waste of time.

At least Logan didn’t seem nearly so scary anymore, after what had happened.

Janus leaned his head on the cool glass, letting his eyelids close.

Maybe it was a waste of time to even try to get this cuff off, but undeniably, there was still a part of him that desperately wanted to go home. If not back to his own pod, who would know of his conviction with or without the marker of his banishment, then to another pod. One who had never heard of Janus, the vicious attempted murderer who got off easy.

[lord-explosion-baku]

Trident Tale part 2

Mermaid!Shinsou x reader x Kirishima x reader

Warnings: adult themes (minors DNI)

Author’s note: sorry to those of you who have asked me to put on the tag list! I don’t do tag lists! But if you don’t want to lose this story, you can always bookmark it on AO3.

Part 1 || Part 2 || Part 3

Original image by @maewoahoah

Moving to an island where everyone is big on the surf scene and other oceanic happenings might not have been the brightest idea for someone so afraid of anything that has to do with water, but you make do by spending your days looking after the Bed & Breakfast, trying not to burn the house down when you fry a few eggs, and obsessively scrolling through Eijirou Kirishima’s social media page. He’ll never notice you, and you think you’re fine with that, until a mysterious force washes into Ms. Shuzenji’s pool after a particularly nasty storm.

Hitoshi Shinsou is a pain in the ass from the get-go, but you put up with him, fins and all, when he promises he can help unite you with your soulmate. The catch? The fish is hellbent on taking back what was stolen from him, and he won’t lift a gracious finger until he gets what he came for.

You’re helpless to lend him a hand, so long as you stay dry. Unless, of course, he has other plans.

You know how the saying goes: you rub his fins, he’ll rub yours.

The thing about being hungry is that you can sometimes convince yourself that you’re full. You can sip water, swallow your breath, pop a few mints in—hell, you could even pretend to eat. However, even if you might trick your brain, your stomach will still be empty.

By the time you finally get some real goddamn food in your stomach, it will be aching from being teased.

It feels like this is exactly what Hitoshi Shinsou has done to you. Teased you. He’d mentioned being one of Ryūjin, which you can only assume is something religious or magic. You know he’s a fish, and that he makes people’s skin glow when he touches them, and apparently his lips or his saliva can heal wounds. But he’s not yet given you any real goddamn food.

The jerk has been swimming circles around the pool, commenting on how disgusting it is being stuck with all the trash, and complaining about your poor hospitality, but has not yet told you what the hell he’s doing here.

It’s not like you ever asked for some creature to crash into Ms. Shuzenji’s pool. Maybe some people would be ecstatic over finding an actual merperson, but life isn’t all about singing songs and talking to seagulls. He’s definitely not an Ariel, unless he is in fact looking for a prince. With all his sass, you think he’s much more of an Ursula than a Disney princess. If he is a sea-witch, he refuses to tell you.

It won’t matter much by the time Denki gets here anyways. You had been honest when you said you wouldn’t put it against him to call some news station when he sees Hitoshi. You figure that after some science lab’s helicopters carried your intruder away to run tests on him, the fish-man will be out of your hair and a thing of the past.

Despite the cynicism crawling through your head, the thought actually makes a guilty pit form in the bottom of your stomach. A life is a life, afterall.

“At least tell me why you tried to…to…” Your mouth flattens when you recall Hitoshi leaning into you, his lips a whisper away from yours.

“To?” Hitoshi asks while he observes the wayward bra that blew into the pool with notable repulsion.

“To kiss me!” You bark out, ears warm.

“Oh, that?” He purses his lips, spinning the bra around in the water. Then, he’s contemplative for a moment, as if he’s thinking of an excuse that won’t make you angry. Or will. He seems to get a kick out of frustrating you.

“I suppose I should’ve considered that it’s not a social norm for humans to greet other humans with their lips,” he says with a cocky, probably lying smirk. “My bad.”

“You expect me to believe that mermaids kiss each other to say hello?”

“Not a mermaid.” The fish is all teeth as he regards you. “I’m one of Ryūjin. And I’d like to think that you’d believe anything I tell you, since you seem to know nothing about my people.”

“Because you won’t tell me anything about your people,” you mutter right before the house bell rings. Your heart jumps with a spike of panic. You haven’t thought about what you’re going to say to Denki yet. You begin thinking about science labs again, and that knot in your stomach tightens.

“Okay,” you say in a warning tone, “I’m gonna let Denki in now…”

“Uh-huh.”

“He’s gonna see you…”

“That’s the plan.” Hitoshi lifts a brow. “You’re not worried for me, are you?”

“I just think you should be more worried about yourself,” you say. “Humans aren’t…” There’s a pensive pause when you try to search for the right word. “Humans aren’t good.”

“Would you say that you’re a good human?” He asks.

What a question. You’d like to believe that you are, but you can’t kid yourself. Never one to be very self-sacrificing, you utter your next words with confidence. “Nope.”

“And yet, you haven’t done anything malicious towards me. Nothing, besides that half-assed attempt to kick me away from you, anyways.”

Rolling your eyes to keep your couldn’t-care-less facade up, you left the smirking merman to wade around in the murky pool. There’s not another second to think about what you could possibly say to Denki about your surprise guest, because when you enter the house, you see his face peeking through the side window next to the front door. You could see a drink holder and a Tiki Burger bag in his hand. His smile is bright, while yours is grim.

He pouts, seeing through forced body language, and proceeds to make a funny face. You let out a half-sigh, half-laugh. You might not be a good person, but Denki is. He’s an idiot, but you don’t think he’d ever do anything to harm another creature, mythical or not. This could even be fun to him. Exciting. Something extraordinary happened, and you’d been too scared to react to it appropriately, but Denki would be different.

Your changing emotions grow palpable when you finally reach for the handle.

“Heard you had some thingies that needed twisting,” Denki says as you open the door. He’s wearing his company’s shirt, a brown thing with the PoolPros logo on it, though it’s cut raggedly short to show off his midriff. He’s been particularly confident ever since he’d gotten his navel pierced, and happily showed off the topaz stone that Kirishima had given him. It hangs right above his buckle. It forces onlookers to look at his abs…or maybe his groin. He says it’s lucky, and you haven’t argued with him about it. You would probably call something Kirishima gave you lucky too.

In a flash, you’re grabbing him by his shirt collar and guiding him in and against one of the hall mirrors.

“Something’s happened.” The words immediately spill out, even while you still do not know what you’re going to say. You hope that if the right things tumble out of your mouth, Denki will get the picture.

“Uh…” Denki’s cheeks are red hot, reacting to your close proximity. “Was it a spike in your libido?”

God.

“No, shut up!” You smack his chest and glance down the hall towards the back door. The pool isn’t in your line of vision, but just knowing what lurks there gets your blood pumping. “This is going to sound crazy, but I need you to keep an open mind.”

He bobs his brows. “For you? Always.”

After an exhale, you gather your composure, and tell Denki everything with as much eloquence as you can muster.

“There’s something living in the pool!” You bark out, erratic. “It’s big and it has zero impulse control and it’s rude! It talks! When it touches me, my skin glows. Then it tried to kiss me, Kaminari! And it’s rude!” You add that in again, because you cannot stress it enough. Hitoshi Shinsou is as unrefined as a piece of driftwood, and he had the audacity to make comments on behalf of your decorum. “It won’t tell me what it’s doing here, either. I offered to get it back into the ocean, but it said it wanted something else, but it won’t tell me what, and I don’t know what to do!”

Denki blinks rapidly, like his eyelashes are repelling every word you toss at him. There’s a beat, he swallows, then his lips tilt up into a knowing grin.

“Alright,” he says, “I see you.”

“You do?” Maybe you had to give Denki a little more credit. That hadn’t been your best description of a nightmare scenario.

“Sure do, little lady. This is some kinda belated birthday prank, huh? Thought you could slide one past me when I was least expecting it! I was thinking that maybe you just forgot about it, but now you’ve got something up your sleeve, don’t ya! Well cutie, I might be dumb, but I’m not stupid!”

Striding into the house, Denki places the shakes and burger bag onto Shuzenji’s kitchen counter. Shoulders deflating, you follow him while he fishes a few fries out of the bag. If he doesn’t get it now, he will soon enough.

“What could it be?” He ponders, tossing a fry into his mouth. He nods towards one of the cups and mumbles about a shake for you, then towards the back door. “Couldn’t be a party—it’s too early for a party. And you don’t talk to many people…”

Ignoring the slight burn, you front Denki, and extend your hand out to his. His eyes widen for a moment, he wipes his hand on his pants, and takes yours.

“I need your help, Denki. Seriously.”

“Yeah,” he says, a touch more reformative. “Okay.”  

What should’ve been some grand reveal, however, turned out to be anything but.

The pool being clean is the first thing you notice, as absurd as that is. It’s now half-filled, with only sprinkles of algae leftover by some miraculous clean-up. There’s no more silver fish swimming around, and all the trash that had previously taken sanctuary in the pool now lays on a mountainous pile with the bra sitting at its peak. Your guest is no longer in the pool—the very clean pool.

Denki chuckles and says, “well, this doesn’t look bad at all. By how hysterical you were on the phone, I was expecting something much worse. Oh! Hello!”

Your jaw drops as Denki waves at Hitoshi—a very comfortable-looking Hitoshi who lounges on one of the reclining pool chairs, head turned back like he’s sun bathing, one leg crossed over the goddamn other. Legs. Attached to feet—feet that definitely were not there when you’d met him.

Tricky, magic fish-man.

“Oh,” Hitoshi says, carefully considering Denki. “We have company?”

The ‘we’ in his statement doesn’t sit right with you anymore than his appearance does. He stands, and both you and Denki gasp when you see his new outfit in its entirety. It’s all royal blue, fine silks, and sheer fabric that only covers the places that would make Denki blush. Puffy, yet flowing sleeves connect to his now two golden cuffs. A heavy gold necklace hangs around him, and he’s got a light sash thrown around mostly his bare chest. A golden, v-shaped belt holds his deep blue harem pants up.

They are the gaudiest goddamn pajamas you’ve ever seen.

Hitoshi moves like water to face Denki, then firmly grasps him by the forearm, yanking the boy forward so that their lips are mere inches away from each other. Noting that there’s no glowing from their contact, you watch as Hitoshi’s indigo eyes slide from Denki’s lips, to you, and shows off a dubious glint.

“Whoops,” Hitoshi murmurs basically into Denki’s mouth. “I almost forgot that you don’t greet people like this here.” He takes a step away and smirks. “Forgive me. I’m Hitoshi Shinsou. You must be the pool guy.”

“Um, yeah. ‘M Denki Kaminari.” Denki laughs nervously. His cheeks burn red, and he keeps shifting his weight from one leg to the other. Grabbing onto your hand tightly, he starts back towards the house, towing you along, saying, “excuse us, we just have to—uh. Talk.”

In a tick, you’re whisked right back inside, in the land of private conversations.

“It didn’t look like that before, Denki. I swear to god.” You’re insisting as soon as the door is closed.

“It?!” Denki balks, his cheeks turning even more red. “Do you mean the pool or that hunk of a man hanging around your backyard?!”

“Both, I guess, but I wouldn’t call it a man! It had a giant purple tail before you showed up!!”

“That’s very rude, y’know.” Denki peers back at Hitoshi who’s lackadaisically cleaning his fingertips. “What are their pronouns?”

You imagine Hitoshi surrounded by others like him, all either screaming or clicking to communicate with each other in an inhuman language. “I don’t think pronouns matter wherever it’s from!”

“Hmm.” Denki slides the door open and pops his head out. “‘Scuse me, Hitoshi, what are your pronouns?”

Without missing a beat, Hitoshi answers him. “As in titles? You can call me Shinsou, but if you’re so inclined, I’ll allow you to call me lord.”

“Lord, of course.” More nervous laughter as Denki closes the door. “Lord. That’s a kink thing, right? It’s gotta be!”

“It’s not!” You bark, but Denki doesn’t hear you. Instead, he rushes towards one of the hall mirrors and begins fussing over his hair.

“I honestly can’t believe you did this. I mean, you, of all people. You’re braver than I gave you credit for. Coulda given me a heads up, though. I would’ve worn somethin’ nice. Or not come at all. I do feel like I’m intruding.” Denki’s eyes light up. “Unless this is for my birthday and you’re…you want me to join you?”

“You’ve lost me.” You're too busy trying to figure out what you can do to convince Denki that Hitoshi is a mermaid. You’ve considered pushing him back into the pool, but you don’t know if that would change him back to his sea-man state, or just make you look like a jackass.

“This is so weird. I haven’t seen that guy on the island before, and believe me, I know everybody. It must’ve cost a pretty penny to get him here. On top of everything else-“ He clears his throat- “how much is this costing you? Does Shuzenji know what you get up to while she’s away?”

It hits you like a freight train. “Oh, Kaminari…No…”

“The jig is up!” Denki stomps his foot defiantly and points towards the door. “You’re paying that man for sex!”

“God no!” The very idea that you’ve paid Hitoshi to be here, to touch you, flusters the hell out of you. If anything, you’d pay for him to leave. “You’d honestly think I’d hire a prostitute?!”

“Escort is the term they are using nowadays, and no, I wouldn’t think you’d hire an escort until now!” Denki scoffs, then moves his hand through his hair, exasperated. “The thing is, babe, you don’t need to. You’re cute and fun! If you got out every once in a while…”

“Fish!” You yell, cutting him off, because you’re not about to have another conversation about your hermit lifestyle. “He’s a fish, Denki! I didn’t fuck a fish! Nor am I planning to!”

Denki blinks at you. Not like before—not like he’s reflecting your words. This blink is more like a blink one would offer someone who’d been having an otherwise normal conversation, until they started talking about the earth being flat, or homosexuals burning in a lake of fire.

I’m not crazy, you think and will Denki to believe. I’ll prove it.

Before you can give Denki a play-by-play of what happened—properly this time, and not just your rambled recall—the door slides open, and Hitoshi steps in.

“May I enter?” The regal-looking man asks.

At the exact same moment you say, “no,” Denki says, “of course.”

“I was just hoping to find something to eat.” Hitoshi stops in the kitchen, arms crossed and expectant.

“You haven’t fed your hooker?” Denki whispers and it blows your mind that he can say hooker and you can’t say prostitute. “You can have half my burger!”

“Burger,” Hitoshi repeats the unfamiliar word, and looks around, probably wondering what it could be. Denki takes the hint and proceeds to fish his meal out of the bag. Overly familiar with Shuzenji’s kitchen, he finds a knife to cut the sandwich in two, then hands one half to Hitoshi.

Hitoshi frowns.

“I’m sorry, are you a vegetarian?” Denki asks, and you can tell he’s being overly hospitable in a house that is not his. When Hitoshi doesn’t answer him, but doesn’t stop frowning, Denki asks, “do you not eat meat?”

“This is meat?” Asks Hitoshi, shaking the burger in the air. Some mayonnaise-covered lettuce falls to the kitchen floor.

“I have to clean that!” You yip and wet a paper towel. When you’re on your knees, Hitoshi gives you a smirk of indifference.

“What, do you not have hamburgers where you’re from?” Denki asks, and when Hitoshi refuses to answer him again, he says, “the meat is the patty. It’s beef.”

“Beef.” Hitoshi begins dissecting the thing, throwing the bun halves, pickles, tomato, and lettuce all on the floor. You continue to curse at him while he sniffs at the patty. “What animal is this?”

“Beef is cow, dude.” Denki sounds more skeptical now, which you’d be grateful for if you weren’t already on your hands and knees, scrubbing ketchup out of the tile. “Man, throwing food on the floor is rude no matter where you’re from. Babe, you shouldn’t have to clean that up.”

“If I don’t, who will?” You ask, sardonic.

“There’s not really a floor where I’m from,” Hitoshi says once he swallows his first bite. He places the patty back onto the burger wrap, and steps away from his mess. “At least, there’s no floor when it’s meal time. We just let shells and bones float around until they go down to where they’ll eventually break down and decay.”

Denki asks, “where did you say you were from?”

“He’s a fish, Denki.”

“I didn’t.” Hitoshi gets down on his knees with a wetted paper towel of his own. He swipes at the places you’ve missed, then looks at you. “Tell me, would a not-good person clean up a mess that isn't their own?”

“It’s kind of my job,” you retort and stand so Hitoshi can finish cleaning. Instead, he stands with you.

“And what is his job?” Hitoshi nods towards Denki who looks more and more fretful by the second. “I assume he’s here to provide services. If you’re paying him, shouldn’t he be the one to clean for you? Prepare meals for you? Bend to your whims?”

Denki says, “I’ve got a couple jobs, but I’m not a housekeeper, no.”

“No?” Hitoshi gives out a terse laugh and hands the towel off to Denki. “Clean.”

Denki looks to you for an explanation. You’re about to chew Hitoshi out, when he again says, “clean,” but this time, there’s something attached to his voice. Something that is nothing, but also more. It sends goosebumps up your arms and compels Denki to fall to the floor and obey the command.

“Yes, my lord.” When Denki finishes cleaning and throws the rest of the mess in the bin, he looks at Hitoshi, eyes glossy, waiting.

“Fetch me some water,” says Hitoshi, and after another yes, my lord, Denki begins searching for a glass.

“Quit it!” You shout and very nearly grab on to Hitoshi’s arm, stopping only when you remember the glow and the prickles that accompany his touch. Decidedly, you hurry after Denki and grab the glass from his hands and snap your fingers in front of his face.

Denki blinks, and this time it’s not because he doesn’t hear you, and it’s not because you’re spouting crazy nonsense. He blinks, and it’s a revelation.

“Hypnosis!” Denki says the word like eureka! and you want to shake him, because he should be angrier than he seems.

“I’m surprised you understand or even remember that much,” Hitoshi drawls. “You’re more in-tune than you’d like people to believe.”

And I’m Mother Teresa, you think bitterly. The fish is contemptuous as hell, but he doesn’t read people well. To him, you’re good and apparently Denki’s a genius.

“How did you do that?” Denki asks with growing excitement. “When I was a kid, I was really into magic, but could never get any of the tricks right. You didn’t use any triggering noises or images or anything.”

“There is a bit of magic about you,” Hitoshi says like he’s thinking out loud. “Not enough to pull something like what I just did off unless you have the proper tide jewel. But you do have enough power to utilize a tide jewel.”

“Don’t do that again,” you warn, and pour water from the sink into the glass. There’s purified water in the fridge, but Hitoshi hasn’t earned it. “To Kaminari or to me. The difference between a house guest and a home-invader is who does and does not use hypnosis on other guests.”

“I wasn’t aware that hypnosis is a common occurrence in your residence.” Hitoshi reaches for the glass, but you hold it away from him. Casting out a withering look, he says, “I wouldn’t be able to hypnotize him again, even if I wanted to. Not for a while, anyways. Not without my tide jewel.”

“What’s a tide jewel?” Denki asks. “Is that, like, sea glass?”

Eyes flicking from the glass of water, to Denki, then to you, Hitoshi says, “he knows how to ask a question.”

The questions that you ask get ignored! But instead of saying that, you continue to withhold the water, and say, “then answer him.”

Mildly peeved, Hitoshi turns his attention back to Denki. “You say you have a couple of jobs. What would they be?”

“That’s not answering his question,” you mutter.

“I’ll decide whether I should answer him in a moment. Denki, if you will.”

“Oh, well…” The sheepish Denki brings his hand to the back of his neck, blushing slightly. “I’ve got the PoolPros gig, and sometimes I pick shifts up at The Salty Barrel. I sort of got an affinity for making drinks…and cooking…and fixing things, so they like to keep me around.”

Unamused, Hitoshi pries. “Anything else?”

“Sometimes I pick up odd jobs. Fishing and delivery. I guess I’m pretty dependable because of the boat.”

This catches Hitoshi’s attention. “You have a boat?”

“Sure, yeah. It’s nothin’ too special yet. I’ve been working on it, and it’s coming along, but it’s not ready for what it’s truly intended for.”

“Which would be?”

Denki looks at you and winks, making your ears warm. You know exactly why he got the boat.

“Romantic rendezvous.”

“I see,” Hitoshi says pensively. Then, his eyes go sharp when he notices you fiddling with the ties on your shorts. “Are you two mates?”

Denki lifts a conspiratorial brow towards you, before throwing his arm around your shoulders, pulling you against his body. “Sure, yeah—we’re mates!”

You push away from him, and bite, “not those kinds of mates.”

Although nobody disagrees with you, you sense Denki sulking.

“Ah,” Shinsou muses. “You haven’t yet fought for her hand?”

Before you can groan at the idea, Denki laughs quietly, but his laughter quickly grows uproariously as he considers the idea. Soon, he’s gripping his stomach to stop himself from doubling over. You glare at his feet.

“As if there’s another guy to fight for her,” Denki bellows, wiping a tear away from his eye. “Maybe if she ever went out, but for now, the only person I gotta fight for her hand, is her!”

“Oh, I understand,” Shinsou says, eyes on you. “A battle to assert domination.”

Denki hoots loudly at the idea. “Looks like I’m screwed!”

To your growing agitation and embarrassment, Denki continues to laugh. It’s as if you’re not constantly shooting him down. You’re not pitiful. Not helpless. And you think you’d have some game if you put your heart into it. You just have a type, and the pool guy just doesn’t fit the bill, whether he’s handy or not.

There’s no humor to be found in Hitoshi’s eyes, though. He’s glaring at you, like before, only now he’s looking at you more like you’re a piece of meat—like he’s some kind of predator and you’re his newfound prey. You inadvertently step closer to Denki, as if he could be used as some sort of defense shield, then elbow him in the ribs, pretending that you’re not at all intimidated by this fish-turned-man.

“Nobody’s fighting anybody,” you say, keeping eye-contact with Hitoshi. You’ve been told before that the fact that you’re never the first to look away is a little off-putting. Hoping to have the same uncomfortable effect on your guest, you don’t even blink when you say, “I just have my eyes on someone special.”

At the same time Denki stops his laughing, Hitoshi narrows his eyes—not out of malice, but what seems to be curiosity. That’s as far as you’ll go with revealing any more personal information. You might not be physically spoken for, yet, but at least you’re emotionally unavailable. You vaguely wonder if those kinds of ideals are acknowledged by sea people.

“Yeah, Kiri,” Denki says with a roll of his eyes. So much for keeping things personal. “He’s not interested in dating anyone, though. In fact, he’s pretty much married to the ocean.”

“At least there aren’t other girls,” you say, and with a quick glance at Denki, you add, “or boys.”

Denki exaggerates a woeful, hand-over-forehead pose and cries, “at least we have each other!” Then, he places his hand back around your shoulders. Again, you scoot away from him, and this time, you catch Hitoshi’s lips quirk up, just a bit.

“Alright,” Hitoshi says. “I’ve decided.”

“Decided what?” You ask.

“That the two of you are going to help me.”

The fish-man moves to flatten the burger wrap down on the counter like a map, and proceeds to decimate the other half of Denki’s burger. Denki says, “oh that’s fine…I wasn’t that hungry anyways.”

“Help you with what!” You bark, practically starving for details. Despite Hitoshi and all that he’s done, your interest is piqued, and you feel as though you’re finally going to get to the meat of his situation.

Lining a few fries on the paper wrap, Hitoshi finally says, “a few of my worldly possessions have been stolen from me. They’ve been missing for quite a long time now, and I now plan to take them back. Four of the six items happen to be tide jewels. I figure those will be the easiest to locate and extract.”

Denki snaps his finger. “Tide jewels! That’s what we were talking about! What are those?

Dabbing his pinky into some mustard, Hitoshi says, “artistry…” He dips his ring finger into the ketchup and says, “reign…” he tears a piece of lettuce in half and says, “tide…” and finally, he rips some of the patty and says, “soul.”

“Artistry, reign, tide, soul,” Denki repeats, peeking over Hitoshi’s shoulder. “You don’t happen to be a musician, do you? A magician musician!”

“I’m a connoisseur, but not a practitioner.” Hitoshi breathes. “And you’re too close to me.”

“Well, you’re certainly not an artist,” Denki huffs, taking a few steps back. You move in to see what Denki saw.

On the wrap, the French fries have been warped to look like some sort of three-pronged fork. On the left prong, there’s a dab of ketchup, in the center, mustard, and the right has a piece of lettuce sitting on it. Connecting the three prongs is the bit of hamburger meat Hitoshi had ripped.

“Is this supposed to be a fork or a trident?” You ask, then kick yourself, because it’s obviously a trident. Duh. Mermaids. “Is that one of the things that have been stolen? A trident?”

Hitoshi says, “yes. All four of the tide jewels connect to the trident. With them, the trident could very well be one of the most powerful blessed objects on this planet. If it falls into the wrong hands, the results could be catastrophic.”

“Now, hang on,” Denki begins, brows curved into a frown. “What?”

“So good at questions,” you murmur.

“Each tide jewel has its own magical property. The names speak for themselves, but since the two of you are a little slow on the uptake, I’ll explain.” Hitoshi points at each different spot on his fries-trident, explaining what each point represents.

“The yellow jewel is for artistry and skill. Whoever wields it, whether in its natural form or attached to another object, will learn trades quickly, can craft almost anything at a master’s level, and they’ll have a more creative way of thinking.”

“The red jewel is for reign and rule. Whoever wields this can command any audience. Wars have been fought, kingdoms taken, and women stolen by the power of this gem. It’s almost the most violent of the four, but it can also be used to keep peace.”

“The blue jewel is for the tide. They used to be two jewels, one for tide-ebbing, the other for tide-flowing, but they’ve been molded together after another theft mishap. With the power of this jewel, one would be able to control not only the water of the sea, but water itself. This gem can create storms you couldn’t dream of. This is possibly the most dangerous stone if placed into the wrong hands.”

“Sir, that’s a piece of lettuce,” Denki says.

“Your burger didn’t have anything blue,” Hitoshi growls, “nor did it have anything purple, which brings me to the last jewel. This would be the soul jewel. It aids people with wishes, can offer good dreams, and can allow the wielder to see people’s auras, or souls. This jewel has stopped many malevolent unions in the past.”

Finally, Hitoshi turns back to you and Denki. There’s nothing content about his expression now. If anything, he looks grave.

“The fact that the trident is not in my possession has already had a cataclysmic influence on the world you know now. I need it, and the jewels, or else there may be dire consequences.”

Throat dry, palms sweaty, you swallow thickly, and allow yourself a moment to process all that he’s saying. It may be idiotic, but you believe him. Maybe if you hadn’t seen him in the water earlier, things would be different. You’d be more skeptical. But since you’ve already seen one impossible thing today—two if you're counting the fact that Hitoshi grew legs and magically poofed himself an outfit—you don’t think he’s lying.

However, Denki did not see him in the water. Which is why he’s the first to speak.

“Right,” he says, looking down on you. “Sorry, babe, but the marvel universe did it first with Thanos and his gauntlet. If this is supposed to be a scavenger hunt of some kind, can we skip the game, hints and all, and get to the dinner? I expect there’ll be candles and such for nighttime, so maybe you and I can hang out at the beach, sans the mean magician?” Denki looks at Hitoshi. “No offense, buddy. You could join us if you cheer up a bit. I’d never say no to a threesome with two equally attractive people.”

The water in the glass you’re holding begins to shake. It shakes, and then it moves, and then it lifts up into the air, snaking around like a gelatinous worm, and slowly makes its away to Hitoshi’s mouth. Never before have you seen anyone swallow menacingly, and this has changed it.

“I am not your buddy,” Hitoshi hisses between his teeth, “and this is not a game.”

“He just…” Denki begins stuttering. This isn’t something he can chock up to something as mundane as a magic trick. This is pure magic, and you feel less like a giant dork for how you reacted to Hitoshi showing himself to you, with how distraught Denki seems to be.

“I told you,” you say under your breath, “he’s a fish!”

“I am Hitoshi Shinsou. I am one of Ryūjin, and you will not desecrate my name or my people by belittling me or my power.” It hadn’t occurred to you until now that he’s not only speaking to Denki, but to both of you. The thought makes you shift with unease as Hitoshi’s eyes slide from your friend to you. “Not without consequences. I’ve been burdened with this purpose, and the two of you can choose to help me and reap the rewards that follow, or you can return to your miserable lives, loligagging and ogling the things you know you want, but are too lazy to obtain.”

At this moment, Hitoshi Shinsou seems ancient to you. Trepidation crawls up your spine, chilling you to the bone. You regret most of what you’ve said to him, even the things you’d thought he deserved. You have an inkling that if Hitoshi really wanted to harm you, or Denki, he would. Easily.

“Okay, well-“ Denki, again speaks first, thank god. “You didn’t say there would be rewards.”

Maybe don’t thank god yet. But before you can apologize on Denki’s behalf, the air that you hadn’t realized had got heavier, thicker even, lifts, and Hitoshi eases up, lackadaisical smirk back on track.

“You both wish for something,” he says. “If you help me retrieve what’s rightfully mine, I will graciously return the favor by granting your wishes.”

“We do?” Denki asks. It’s wild to you how easily he could jump back into conversation like this, although, when you look closely at him, you can see that he’s trembling faintly. “What do I want?”

“You wish for a boat,” Hitoshi says, “so I will give you a boat.”

“I have a boat.”

“I’ll give you a better boat.” Hitoshi seems to be enjoying himself now, even going so far as to lean on the table, picturing exactly what he’s describing. “A captivating boat that both women and men find irresistible. It will sail smoother and faster than the other vessels out on sea. You will never want or need for an upgrade for it will never wear or tear.”

“A super boat,” Denki muses, beguiled by the idea. It’s your turn to be skeptical now, because you haven’t wished for anything. At least, not aloud for Hitoshi to hear.

“Then, what do I get?” You ask, arms crossed. You can admit that you’re interested in what he might have to say.

“Oh darlin’, that’s easy,” Hitoshi purrs, and moves from the counter over to you. Slowly, like he’s savoring your anticipation. Lifting a finger to your arm, he slides it across your skin, watching as both the glow and the tingles return. You have to hold your breath to yourself from sighing.

“You want to be loved,” he says, “adored even. And not just by anybody. You want to be with your soulmate, isn’t that right. That may be why you came to this island to begin with.”

There’s no way he could’ve known that you’re new to the island. Nobody said anything about it. But he’s not wrong. Though you can’t say he’s right either. You came to the island in hopes to find…yourself. And though you haven’t yet found yourself, you sure as hell found Kirishima. And soulmate has a nice right to it.

“So if we help you find these gems—“

“—tide jewels,” he intervenes.

“Tide jewels-“ you roll your eyes- “then you will give Denki a super boat, and you will unite me with a soulmate?”

“Exactly,” Hitoshi confirms. “Easy peesy, isn’t it?”

“How do we know you’ll uphold your end of the bargain?” Denki asks, finally out of his super boat daydreams.

“I said you were good with questions.” Hitoshi smirks. “You don’t know. You can’t know. But you can either do this with me, and probably get a super boat and a soulmate out of it, or you can not, and get nothing.”

Denki side-eyes you, and you him. You hold each other’s gazes for a brief moment, and you already know how this would play out if you refuse. Denki would convince you to do it. You don’t do anything, he says with his eyes. Might as well hang around and see how this plays out.

“Fine.” Even though your good conscience screams at you to do otherwise, you let up. “We’ll help you.”

“Excellent.” Hitoshi beams, or at least, he beams in a way only someone who was just threatening two other people can beam. “Then we should start our search today. We’ll probably need to go into town and see if there are any supernatural occurrences or old folktales to check out.”

Going out to town is the last thing you’d planned on doing today. Or maybe the second to last thing you planned on doing. You have to ask, because if you don’t, you’ll go batsy.

“We won’t be getting wet, will we?”

Hitoshi scoffs, which isn’t an answer. Maybe you really don’t ask the right questions because when Denki asks, “you said there were six things you need to retrieve. What’s the sixth thing?” Hitoshi winks at you, and grins. And when he grins, your stomach aches.

[spice-chan]

Did tumblr ate my ask for merman!Bakugou? If yes, can I request merman!bakugou and human!reader? Bakugou wants her so badly that he bites her and she becomes a mermaid. Thank you~~

Fish

Warnings- yandere!Bakugou Katsuki. Reader hates fish(me projecting).

Bakugo’s tail splashed around, a visible sign of his excitement at seeing you, his pretty human, or should he say, his mate?

“Hey, Katsuki!” He heard you call out before you even reached him, jogging up to him.

It was a nice summer day, and you seemed to be glowing in it, so much that he had to shield his eyes for a second when you appeared.

“Tsk, nothin’ better to do?” He spoke nonchalantly, trying to stop his tail from wagging like a mutt. Acting as if he didn’t come here knowing you will at this time to meet him.

You brushed his words off, smile not falling off and halo not letting up.

Your legs(they still looked so strange to Katsuki) squatted down at the rocks at the edge, before you used your hands to stabilize your upper body while your legs did another strange movement before dangling at the rocks and dipping slightly in the water.

You shuddered slightly when you caught sight of his humongous tail. You were more than dismayed when you heard that you will be spending the summer with your granddad in his home on a very remote island. Little wifi connection and surrounded by the creatures you hate most: fish.

You despised them with passion, their slimy skin and soulless eyes make your stomach churn. The same applies to your tailed friend at times, unfortunately.

It really does remind you that he isn’t human like you if the barely visible fins and sharp teeth didn’t hammer the point home. It gave you the vivid image of a big, predatory shark, ready to sink its teeth into its prey.

Oh, but if you manage to get past the painful churning of your stomach and your fear of fish, you get the chance to admire how pretty his tail is. It’s dark orange, with swirls of red and black lines on either side.

Still, you could only do that on a good day when you managed to look long enough without feeling disgust bile in your throat.

“Hey!” He snapped you out of your haze, towards the more humanoid part of him.

“Oop, sorry!” You laughed it off, eyes crinkling happy and back to that dopey look, he’s painfully familiar with.

“You’re such a goof, what were you staring at anyway?” He scoffed, looking at you expectantly.

“Your fins. They make me glad to have legs.”

That piqued his interest, his fins peeking out from beneath the water and splashing slightly as if to express its discontent with being compared to mere legs.

“HAH? Oi, are you outta’ your mind?” He swam around quickly, splashing you with water in his audacious demonstration. He noticed the slight grimace. “Of course fins are better! You can fucking swim with those so easily and...and catch fish and shit. Scratch that, merkind are better than humans in general.”

You looked at him with raised eyebrows, wordlessly objecting his ‘observation’.

“I’m quite content not catching fish, thank you very much. Also, I can swim with my legs.”

It seemed like playful banter to you, but Katsuki was getting quite riled up at an obstacle he hadn't quite anticipated.

If you prefer having legs then...will you ever let him turn you?

How...will he truly be with you then?

With a quick splash, he was at your feet in an instant, reaching for one.

“Lemme see for myself what makes those things so great.”

His fingers poked your toes, spreading the small appendages apart in what one could describe as reluctant fascination.

You drew the line when he tried to put one in his mouth though.

“Eeek” you quickly slid away from him, shielding your toes with a pout.

He blushed, not expecting himself to get so...into this. It’s probably just ‘cause it’s you. Everything about you is nice. Nicer than the other humans he’d observed.

“Sorry” he mumbled, redness spreading to his neck, causing him to avoid your eyes.

You crawled near him again, reaching a palm out to tousle his golden spikes.

“‘It’s ok”

Before long, you were back in your original position, talking and babbling away without a care.

A breeze brushed past, causing the tiniest of hairs to stand up in guard. The sun, which had originally stood proudly in the centre of the sky, seemed so far away now.

“Actually, I gotta leave now.” You went to stand up, but he caught you, holding you in place.

“Why? You usually stay longer.”

“Yeah. But today grandpa is having some guests over, and there’s a guy around my age that he wants me to meet. They should be coming over in an hour. “

Katsuki’s face fell with each word you spoke, he hissed threateningly, a sound you haven’t heard from him in a long, long time.

“Meet him as in, be mates?”

You nodded carelessly, arms folding as if to trap the warmth in as the weather gets breezier and breezier.

“But…you’re my mate.”

The rage in his eyes was something quite foreign to you, you’ve never seen that look on Katsuki, your friendly, merman friend. You shouldn’t have forgotten that he’s partly your worst enemy.

“I have to go.”

All thoughts in Katsuki’s head were dumped into the sea, nothing remaining in his mind but to keep you close. Close to him. Him only.

You screeched loudly as the sharp teeth you feared sunk into your leg, the feeling of a foreign liquid entering your body was the last thing you felt before drifting into slumber, never to wake up the same again.

.........

Will for sure come back to this eventually.

[wyyvernn]

Merman!Kaeya x Reader

Featuring a gender!neutral reader

Felt like posting this here too~

____________________

There's nothing that bores Kaeya more than an empty schedule with little to nothing to do.

"So boring..."

His duties are cleared for the day, tasks completed to a flawless finish, the underwater city of Mondstadt has been scouted thoroughly on the border to ensure no invaders enter through and the mer knights are ready to retire back into their quarters.

There's just one thing, though. Kaeya can't return yet, he tells himself mentally as a shimmering glimmer of metal catches his eye on the surface of the ocean. The warm light of the setting sun helps the water reflect the shine of the unknown object floating above.

And as Kaeya goes to investigate with much caution, he comes to recognise it as an iron hook. As he swims up closer to get a better look, his hand reaches out, fingers locking around the small claw.

There's an opposing force that suddenly whips the water and before long he feels himself being dragged against a current. That is until the hook attached to a string breaks and he too with it. Eyes narrowed and brows knitted, he feels even more compelled to find the source of the commotion above the sea.

Blue iridescent scales glisten beneath light as the merman's tail flaps rapidly behind him, his arms working into a pace that allows him to drive through the water above. As he reaches the top, his head comes up out of the ocean, eyes peeking over the surface and his mind screaming at him to be alert.

Only, as his sight adjusts to the scene in front of him, he realises that there's not much of a threat at all.

Just a lonely human sitting on a rock with a fishing rod in hand.

"Curse the ocean, I almost had one! It felt like a mighty fish as well!"

They're grumbling and their fingers are fumbling around with a new fishing line to attach to their fishing rod. And archons, Kaeya is at a loss for words as the person lifts their head suddenly, their eyes piercing right through his own as he stills, too stunned to move.

They're beautiful. Ethereal, he thinks, and coming from a creature of mythic beauty himself, he finds the truth hard to be believe.

He's never seen a land folk so wonderful before, then again, he hasn't seen very many land folk in the past either. He rarely uses his legs; finding them too much of a bother to walk with like humans do on ground.

"You...what are you doing in the water? Don't you know these waters are for fishing only?"

Oh, if only they knew. The merman shook his head chuckling, creating little ripples around his body.

"Hm? I'm not sure which is more charming, your beauty or your sass," Kaeya thought aloud, and a smirk conjured on his lips when he caused a very apparent blush to appear on your cheeks.

Shaking your head in agitation, you watched him come up to shore, on the threshold of where the water meets the sand and you were shocked to find that his lower half didn't exactly look...human. In fact, from where anyone would expect legs, there was only an exceedingly long fish tail attached to a gorgeously toned and tan torso. Blue and cyan scales littered the entire appendage while the caudal fin spread like streams of sheer ribbon, smacking the surface of the water in excitement.

"Surprised? Most land folk are when they see someone like me..." he flashed a pearly grin, his wet navy strands clinging to the side of his face as he flapped his tail one more time over the water.

And you could only gawk at this living creature in awe and panic, your hands clenching around your fishing rod till your skin tightened over your knuckles.

"W-what are you...?!" You exclaimed, brows twisting in disbelief.

The unknown creature pouted, placing a hand to his chest in mock offence, using his other to prop himself up on the sand, "My, such an audacious human you are~ I ought to come over there and teach you some proper manners...oh well, I suppose that won't do much good, seeing as you've never witnessed a merman before..."

"A mer-merman?! But they don't exist..."

"Hm, then perhaps you're seeing things. Maybe I'm real, maybe I'm not. Maybe you're dreaming or maybe...you're not real," he sent a wry smile your way, his fingertips drumming his cheek in thought.

The thought flew right passed your head, still too engrossed in the fact that a real life merman has decided to intrude upon your outdoor activity.

You ignored his comment and gradually rose from your seat, taking into account that he seemed relaxed and that his smile was slowly increasing with each cautious step you took towards him.

The merman hummed in question, his brow cocking ever so slightly at your newfound bravery, "Oh? Come to find out the truth for yourself?"

You bent down nervously, your knees crashing into the sand below while your hands kept yourself from falling forward.

You could view him clearly now. Scales, otherworldly beauty, handsome face and all laying less than an arms length away.

How... how is this possible?

The thought kept playing in your mind and without realising, you must've been staring at him too long because as soon as he spoke, embarrassment washed over your face.

"It's rude to stare~"

And he may have been right, but no one has ever caught your eye like a mysterious merman before.

"Ah- oh...sorry... so, what's your name?"

Without warning, the creature's eye lit up and his hand reached forth to snatch your own, bringing the back of it to his mouth.

"Kaeya, Kaeya Alberich. One of the captains of the Mer Knights of Favonius in the underwater city of Mondstadt," he introduced, his lips tilting up a tad before he planted a kiss to your knuckles.

You blushed deeply and Kaeya could've sworn it was the most adorable thing he'd ever seen.

"Uhh, Y/n. Just Y/n."

Kaeya repeated your name, sounding it, whispering it gently on his tongue, savouring it before slowly another flirtatious smile graced his lips.

"A lovely name indeed~" he uttered lowly, his caudal fin clapping the water behind him gleefully as you thanked him gently.

Silence touched the air abrubtly and you didn't take notice that you were staring at him again, this time at his tail. The colours reflected in your eyes like diamonds and crystals, deep navy blues and shining whites like glitter beneath the setting sun's rays.

"You can touch it if you'd like," he said flopping on his back. His lonely eye twinkled in mischief but beneath that, a sense of sincerity lay hidden.

You reached out, appreciative of the fact that he didn't seem to jerk away. Your palm came in contact with the base of the tail first, the scales smooth as you felt down one side, and rough as you moved your digits against the other.

"Beautiful," you spoke, voice barely above a whisper. Kaeya seemed to like that, shuffling his tail closer.

As you were about to touch one of his fins, a sharp breath drew your hands back in surprise. In the next second, the tail seemed to dissipate into tiny blue shards and in their place lay a pair of toned legs instead.

You jerked, landing back on your arms in shock, "What just happened?! D-Did I do that?!"

Immediately, you registered that Kaeya no longer wore the appearance of a merman, but rather he was now a full adult human man, which only meant one thing...

"No, no. I usually regain my legs when I'm out of water for awhile...uh? Is there a reason why you're not looking at me, sweetheart? Am I not beautiful anymore...?" He pouted, inching closer on the wet sand.

"You're not...you...you're naked, Kaeya..."

The merman shot his gaze between his legs and sure enough, he finally understood why you were flushing profusely.

Kaeya felt a crooked smirk reach his mouth and he moved across to your body, his lips grazing your ear a little and his voice only a seductive whisper.

"You know...I don't mind if you touch me down there too~"

That earned him a whack to his face.

[youarejesting]

Wash Out.21 (Sope Special)

[Master List]

Banners: @purpleskies1999 Pairings: Dolphintrainer!Taehyung x SharkDiver!Jin,  Mer!Jimin x Reader, Scientist!Namjoon x MerKing!Jungkook, Mer!Yoongi x Mer!Hoseok. Rating: 16+ Genre: Mystery, Romance, Comedy, Drama, Fantasy, little bit of Action, Slice of life, Enemies2Lovers, Friends2lovers, Social media au, Fake Texts, Fake Subs.

Summary: Taehyung and his best friend Y/N are Dolphin trainers at Wash Out; Marine Wildlife and Theme Park. When the nerdy marine biologist and resident veterinarian Doctor Kim Namjoon goes missing; the two friends form a ragtag team with Taehyung’s rival Seokjin and a…. Fish?

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Yoongi stood still, his legs shaking. It was not normal for him to be standing for this length of time. They were mermaids used to having tails their strength in the water. Swimming was like breathing. Of course their legs only appeared on their sacred land under the ocean.

They couldn’t walk on human land, could never compare to their leg strength. Most Mermaids spent their days in the water only entering the sacred land for celebrations. Yoongi being one of many guards would protect the royal family, albeit there was no longer a royal family. Jungkook was all that was left, a prince forced to be a king before he was ready. 

Guards were the most common of the merfolk to adorn legs. Jungkook was confined to the sacred land, his time in the water limited. Anything to keep him safe from the threat of other merclans. Each guard embellished in the silk of the clams. Byssus was woven finely like silk, the light material was surprisingly warm enough to protect the guards and King whilst in their more vulnerable form.

Yoongi looked across the crystal throne room, the love of his life standing just as tall, his stature stronger than Yoongi’s. A feat as Jungkook tore the room apart, bioluminescent vines and lanterns ripped from the walls. Food and wine splattered on the floor of their ancestors.

Hoseok’s mouth turned down, the sight unnatural for his usually cheerful disposition. The hardest part of their job was raising Jungkook, it seemed no matter how hard they tried to teach him right and wrong, politics and history they still came up short. He didn’t have a family, not anymore, he didn’t know how to share and never had to work for relationships. 

Everyone adored him, feared him, doted on his every whim. He was given the finest foods and all the newest technology Merfolk could offer. Anything to keep him content in his prison. It surprised Yoongi that Jungkook hadn’t questioned his confines, that he was complacent with their level of control over his freedom.

Jungkook no longer understanding, why his new found friend was so reluctant to stay. He extended all his riches and gifts to the human, something other merfolk would cherish. 

“Why does he still want to leave, with me he could be treated as a king,” Jungkook seethed, throwing a leg over the arm of his throne massaging his temples. “Leave me.”

Hoseok marched dutifully to Yoongi, supporting the older merman as they made their exit. Walking him to the entrance of the underwater cove, the air though damp enough to keep their lungs from feeling dry, they much preferred sinking into the cool water. Doing so allowed the power of the sacred land to slip away leaving only their natural form. 

The two transformed their black and blue tails wrapping around each other, a romantic gesture Yoongi enjoyed more than he wished to admit. They relaxed in eachothers arms peacefully, sinking further until they landed on the floor of the large network of caves. This is where most of the merfolk lived as they were still protected from the open ocean.

Under the cove was wide and besides a few stalagmite and stalactite the surface was predominantly flat. However the local life was anything but, everyone bustling around the settlement enjoying tending to the seaweed, crafting and protecting the sealife. 

“Jungkook, is struggling. He doesn’t understand how to handle rejection. He doesn’t understand that people value the same things,” Hoseok mumbled, massaging Yoongi’s lower back to help relieve tension from standing for such a long time.

“That human cannot survive long under the ocean, he grows weaker by the day, barely eating.” Yoongi huffed, “If Jungkook doesn’t let him go, the poor thing will die, Jungkook isn’t ready to experience something like that so close to him.”

“I think he has gotten too attached, losing this human might break him,” Hoseok bit his lip, “Dare I say he is in love with him, he could be his promised.”

Yoongi scoffed, the idea that Jungkook happened to find his promised one and he was a human, the first human he had ever met. Yoongi and Hoseok were unaware they were each other's promised until Yoongi had a week off from guard duty and started to get really sick. The two had met in the infirmary wasting away and only in one another's company did their condition improve. “Hoseok, that’s a bit much.”

A figure swam down the path quickly, heading straight to the sacred cove entrance, carrying something large. Was someone trying to attack their home? The two fell apart taking up offensive stances, each lurching forward when they spotted Jimin holding an unconscious human.

“Not another one,” Yoongi chastised, eyes sweeping over Jimin trying to be inconspicuous. Though he cared he showed it silently, not fond of open praise. The kind to listen and assist others out of sight.

“I have to make sure he is alright,” Jimin gave no further explanation, swimming up into the cove entrance dragging the human onto the sacred land. Jimin’s gold tail disappearing, leaving behind two bare legs. 

Wrapping himself in a cloth, the two followed. Yoongi strained to lift himself into an upright position. Hoseok brought out their usual transport, especially for Jungkook’s deliveries. In this case they threw the unconscious human across the shell of the crustacean and they headed to their king.

“Are all humans this big?” Yoongi asked, eyeing the figure draped beside Jimin. The two crab-pooling wasn’t the issue, the way Jimin looked genuinely concerned for the human was. It was no good for humans and Merfolk to fall in love, the dynamic wouldn’t end well. 

“No, they aren’t all this big, some of them are small, delicate and beautiful. They are magnificent, fascinating beings. Some are scary and mean and others are innocent and protective, just trying to do the right thing.” Jimin whispered, checking the humans breathing once more. 

“Is he your promised?” Hoseok asked softly, not knowing how to approach the topic sensitively. Jimin smiled, shaking his head. The thought appeared to have amused him.

“He is someone else’s promised,” Jimin said, “But I think I met her, she was beautiful and strong, never letting anyone stop her, never letting bad things keep her down. She would swim head first into enemy waters to save someone she barely knows.

The human groaned, “Where am I?” Jimin let out a sigh of relief, this human was waking up and didn’t seem to be physically hurt, at least there were no wounds they could see upon his flesh. “Am I dead?”

“No, you are not dead, you are in our settlement.” Jimin grinned at the disorientation present in Seokjin’s words. He was struggling to enunciate his words, each more like a whine drawn out.

Upon entering the crystal throne room the group tried their best to support the sluggish human inside. Gaining the attention of Jungkook, ceasing his brooding long enough to assist the three struggling mermen. As if hearing the commotion or perhaps Seokjin’s terrible jokes Namjoon emerged from where he had been staying.

“Jin! Are you okay?” Namjoon grabbed his friend, checking him over for injury, “What are you doing here?”

“Rescuing you and avoiding the police, I ran my car off the cliff and also may have destroyed the letter box outside your beach house.” He laughed, “Never really liked it anyway.”

“You did what?” Namjoon said, concerned, “Are you crazy?”

“Listen, we were being chased. It was all for you, and Jimin of course, returning Jimin and rescuing you.” Seokjin smiled at his friend. Yoongi thought these humans were weird, they were reckless and too odd for his liking. “I even teamed up with Taehyung and Y/n in order to save you. Do you know how hard that was?”

“Didn’t seem hard at all, you and Taehyung seemed to get along really well.” Jimin pushed the human with a smile, it was weird to see Jimin acting so comfortable with the humans. “We will return you so that the issue can be resolved, I am starting to grow worried about how we left.”

“What do you mean?” Seokjin asked confused

“Humans tackled Y/n and Taehyung dragged me into the water. Right before you and your car contraption fell into the water I killed the man who scared you all.” Jimin said proudly, this didn’t seem to go over well with the human’s. Yoongi hoped Jimin didn’t do something stupid turf war wasn’t on his to do list.

Yoongi didn’t understand the words coming from Seokjin’s face, if he had to liken it to anything, it sounded like vulgar slang, curse words. The human looked panicked.

“We have to go back, they are probably being sent to prison,” Seokjin said, trying to leave unsure which direction to go, “They are in big trouble.”

“Can’t you just talk to your king and explain and they will be removed from prison?” Jimin said

“Prison doesn’t work the same as it does here,” Namjoon explained, “Very Very bad people go to prison, Murderer’s, thieves and other despicable humans put in one place.”

“Yeah and if they go to prison, they may be beaten or worse,” Seokjin huffed. Jimin looked up at Jungkook who nodded, bringing out a small mirror and handing it to Jimin.

Looking over Jimin’s shoulder, Yoongi noticed a human different to the two infront of him, she was feminine delicate and leaking. “What is happening to her?”

“She is crying,” Jimin explained, “Humans do that when they are hurt or in despair, from what I have been told they do the same when they are happy too.”

“Confusing and a little stupid.” Hoseok laughed, “How do you know the difference?”

The charges have been dropped, Namjoon breathed listening to the interrogator, explaining that they couldn’t record the phenomenon that occurred on the beach. “They are being let go,” He smiled, a sight Yoongi hadn’t seen since he first laid eyes on their large domestic crustaceans.

“There is Taehyung,” Seokjin called out looking down, the two humans looked void of any emotion, they collected their things and climbed into the police car getting an escort to their homes. “They are safe and that’s all that matters.” 

Seokjin smiled, his eyes leaking much to Yoongi’s disgust. Namjoon smiled, he seemed a little amused by the older human. “I remember distinctly you saying you hated Taehyung with a passion and wanted him to choke on a sardine.” They two laughed for a moment, “When did things change?” 

“I guess when you are working as a team to save someone you develop an understanding.” Seokjin shrugged his large shoulders, “It also didn’t help that he was living in my house for almost a week.”

“You like him,” Namjoon poked him, “Admit it you have feelings for him.”

“We can head back when you are ready, we have returned Jimin home safely.” Seokjin smiled, looking around at the group and smiling, “I am Seokjin by the way, you can call me Jin.”

The man was goofy, reminding Yoongi of Jungkook himself, the two so alike in their childlike nature, letting themself play without hesitation. It was almost admirable that people could act so carefree, unaffected by how they could be perceived.

“I don’t know if I am allowed to leave?” Namjoon said, his smile falling, eyes fixed on the ground before him. 

Yoongi looked at his king, the spoiled young man reflecting on his actions, it had been many days since they saw the young man smile. Almost expecting him to refuse, Yoongi schools his expression when he doesn’t. 

“You should go, You don’t belong down here?” Jungkook took the mirror before walking away from the group to sit on the throne. He lowered his head looking at his reflection trying to distract himself from the pain. Letting your promised go was the hardest thing a merperson could do. Under normal circumstances, promises are only parted by death.

Namjoon walked over, placing a hand on the king's head and smiling at him, “If ever you want to visit, I would be happy to show you some great places, places you would love.” Jungkook’s broken heart warmed at the human’s dimples appearing softly in the flesh of his cheeks.

That was the last thing they needed, their king running off for a romance on the coast line. Seokjin swung his arm around Jimin playfully, the merman giggling whilst his legs almost buckled. “Yeah Jimin knows the private beach by Namjoon’s house, he can show you the way if you ever want to visit.”

Tags: @backinblack1967 @miriamxsworld @moccahobi @simplymemyself @a-gayish-unicorn @ella-mella @vjinfan23​

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